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We may live without poetry, music, and art ; 

We may live without conscience and live without heart 5 

We may live without friends 5 we may live without books ; 

But civilized man cannot live without cooks. 

He may live without books — what is knowledge but grieving 

He may live without hope — what is hope but deceiving ? 

He may live without love — what is passion but pining ? 

But where is the man who can live without dining ? 

Owen Meredith's "Lucile.' 



A 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 

7 

BY 




" I request you will prepare 
To your own taste the bill of fare ; 
At present, if to judge I'm able, 
The finest works are of the table. 
I should prefer the cook just now 
To Rubens or to Gerard Dow." 



Philadelphia: 




186/. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, 

BY MARIA J. MOSS, 

the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



2_ k Sr Z c ) 



DEDICATION. 



" What's under this cover ? 

For cookery's a secret." — Moore. 

When I wrote the following pages, some years back 
at Oak Lodge, as a pastime, I did not think it would be 
of service to my fellow-creatures, for our suffering sol- 
diers, the sick, wounded, and needy, who have so nobly 
fought our country's cause, to maintain the flag of our 
great Republic, and to prove among Nations that a Free 
Republic is not a myth. With these few words I dedi- 
cate this book to the Sanitary Fair to be held in 
Philadelphia, June, 1864. 

March, 1864. 



1* 



Through tomes of fable and of dream 

I sought an eligible theme ; 

But none I found, or found them shared 

Already by some happier bard, 

Till settling on the current year 

I found the far-sought treasure near. 

A theme for poetry, you see — 

A theme t 5 ennoble even me, 

In memorable forty-three. 

Oh, Dick! you may talk of your writing and reading, 
Your logic and Greek, but there is nothing like feeding. 

MOORE. 

Upon ringing and cookery, Bobby, of course, 
Standing up for the latter Fine Art in full force. 

Moore. 

Are these the choice dishes the Doctor has sent us? 
Heaven sends us good meats, but the Devil sends cooks. 

That my life, like the German, may be 

"Du lit a la table, de la table au lit." — Moore. 



TO THE READER. 



Though cooks are often men of pregnant wit, 

Through niceness of their subject few have writ. 

'Tis a sage question, if the art of cooks 

Is lodg'd by nature or attain'd by books ? 

That man will never frame a noble treat, 

Whose whole dependence lies in some receipt. 

Then by pure nature everything is spoil'd, — 

She knows no more than stew'd, bak'd, roast, and boil'd. 

When art and nature join, the effect will be, 

Some nice ragout, or charming fricasee. 

What earth and waters breed, or air inspires, 

Man for his palate fits by torturing fires. 

But, though my edge be not too nicely set, 

Yet I another's appetite may whet; 

May teach him when to buy, when season's pass'd, 

What's stale, what choice, what plentiful, what waste, 



Vlll 



POETICAL COOK-BOOk, 



And lead him through the various maze of taste. 

The fundamental principle of all 

Is what ingenious cooks the relish call; 

For when the market sends in loads of food, 

They all are tasteless till that makes them good. 

Besides, 'tis no ignoble piece of care, 

To know for whom it is you would prepare. 

You'd please a friend, or reconcile a brother, 

A testy father, or a haughty mother ; 

Would mollify a judge, would cram a squire, 

Or else some smiles from court you would desire ; 

Or would, perhaps, some hasty supper give, 

To show the splendid state in which you live. 

Pursuant to that interest you propose, 

Must all your wines and all your meat be chose. 

Tables should be like pictures to the sight, 

Some dishes cast in shade, some spread in light ; 

Some at a distance brighten, some near hand, 

Where ease may all their delicace command; 

Some should be moved when broken, others last 

Through the whole treat, incentive to the taste. 

Locket, by many labors feeble grown, 

Up from the kitchen call'd his eldest son ; 

Though wise thyself (says he), though taught by m 

Yet fix this sentence in thy memory: 



TO THE READER. 



ix 



There are some certain things that don't excel, 
And yet we say are tolerably well. 
There's many worthy men a lawyer prize, 
Whom they distinguish as of middle size, 
For pleading well at bar or turning books ; 
But this is not, my son, the fate of cooks, 
From whose mysterious art true pleasure springs, 
To stall of garters, and to throne of kings. 
A simple scene, a disobliging song, 
Which no way to the main design belong, 
Or were they absent never would be miss'd, 
Have made a well-wrought comedy be hiss'd; 
So in a feast, no intermediate fault 
Will be allow'd; but if not best, 'tis nought. 
If you, perhaps, would try some dish unknown, 
Which more peculiarly you'd make your own, 
Like ancient sailors, still regard the coast, — 
By venturing out too far you may be lost. 
By roasting that which your forefathers boil'd, 
And broiling what they roasted, much is spoiPd. 
That cook to American palates is complete, 
Whose savory hand gives turn to common meat. 
Far from your parlor have your kitchen placed, 
Dainties may in their working be disgraced. 
In private draw your poultry, clean your tripe, 
And from your eels their slimy substance wipe. 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



Let cruel offices be done by night, 

For they who like the thing abhor the sight. 

'Tis by his cleanliness a cook must please ; 

A kitchen will admit of no disease. 

Were Horace, that great master, now alive, 

A feast with wit and judgment he'd contrive, 

As thus: Supposing that you would rehearse 

A labor'd work, and every dish a verse, 

He'd say, " Mend this and t'other line and this. 

If after trial it were still amiss, 

He'd bid you give it a new turn of face, 

Or set some dish more curious in its place. 

If you persist, he would not strive to move 

A passion so delightful as self-love. 

Cooks garnish out some tables, some they fill, 

Or in a prudent mixture show their skill. 

Clog not your constant meals ; for dishes few 

Increase the appetite when choice and new. 

E'en they who will extravagance profess, 

Have still an inward hatred for excess. 

Meat forced too much, untouch'd at table lies ; 

Few care for carving trifles in disguise, 

Or that fantastic dish some call surprise. 

When pleasures to the eye and palate meet, 

That cook has render'd his great work complete 



TO THE READER. 



xi 



His glory far, like sirloin knighthood 1 flies 

Immortal made, as Kit-cat by his pies. 

Next, let discretion moderate your cost, 

And when you treat, three courses be the most. 

Let never fresh machines your pastry try, 

Unless grandees or magistrates are by, 

Then you may put a dwarf into a pie? 

Crowd not your table ; let your number be 

Not more than seven, and never less than three. 

'Tis the dessert that graces all the feast, 

For an ill end disparages the rest. 

A thousand things well done, and one forgot, 

Defaces obligation by that blot. 

Make your transparent sweetmeats truly nice 

With Indian sugar and Arabian spice. 

And let your various creams encircled be 

With swelling fruit just ravish'd from the tree. 

The feast now done, discourses are renewed, 

And witty arguments with mirth pursued ; 

1 Charles I, dining one day off of a loin of beef, was so much 
pleased with it, knighted it. 

2 In the reign of Charles I, Jeffry Hudson (then seven or eight 
years old, and but eighteen inches in height) was served up to table 
in a cold pie at the Duke of Buckingham's, and as soon as he made 
his appearance was presented to the Queen. 



Xll 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



The cheerful master, 'midst his jovial friends, 
His glass to their best wishes recommends. 
The grace cup follows: To the President's health 
And to the country ; Plenty, Peace, and Wealth ! 
Performing, then, the piety of grace, 
Each man that pleases reassumes his place ; 
While at his gate, from such abundant store, 
He showers his godlike blessings on the poor. 



" Despise not my good counsel.' 



MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS 

FOR THE USE OF THE 

MISTRESS OF A FAMILY. 



The mistress of a family should always remember that 
the welfare and good management of the house depend 
on the eye of the superior, and, consequently, that no- 
thing is too trifling for her notice, whereby waste may 
be avoided. 

Many families have owed their prosperity full as much 
to the conduct and propriety of female arrangement, as 
to the knowledge and activity of the father. 

All things likely to be wanted should be in readiness, — 
sugars of different qualities should be broken; currants 
washed, picked and dry in a jar; spice pounded, &c. 
Every article should be kept in that place best suited to 
it, as much waste may thereby be avoided. Vegetables 

2 



xiv 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



will keep best on a stone floor if the air be excluded. 
Dried meats, hams, &c, the same. All sorts of seeds 
for puddings, rice, &c, should be close-covered, to pre- 
serve from insects. Flour should be kept in a cool, per- 
fectly dry room, and the bag being tied should be changed 
upside down and back every week, and well shaken. 
Carrots, parsnips, and beet-roots should be kept in sand 
for winter use, and neither they nor potatoes be cleared 
from the earth. Store onions preserve best hung up in 
a dry room. Straw to lay apples on should be quite 
dry, to prevent a musty taste. Tarragon gives the flavor 
of French cookery, and in high gravies should be added 
only a short time before serving. 

Basil, savory, and knotted marjoram, or London thyme, 
to be used when herbs are ordered; but with discretion, 
as they are very pungent. 

Celery seeds give the flavor of the plant to soups. 
Parsley should be cut close to the stalks, and dried on 
tins in a very cool oven; it preserves its flavor and color, 
and is very useful in winter. Artichoke bottoms, which 
have been slowly dried, should be kept in paper bags, and 
truffles, lemon-peel, &c, in a very dry place, ticketed. 

Pickles and sweetmeats should be preserved from air : 
where the former are much used, small jars of each should 
be taken from the stock-jar, to prevent frequent opening. 
Some of the lemons and oranges used for juice should 



MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 



XV 



be pared first, to preserve the peel dry; some should be 
halved, and, when squeezed, the pulp cut out, and the 
outsides dried for grating. 

If for boiling any liquid, the first way is best. When 
whites of eggs are used for jelly, or other purposes, 
contrive to have pudding, custards, &c, to employ the 
yolks also. 

Gravies or soups put by, should be daily changed into 
fresh scalded pans. 

If chocolate, coffee, jelly, gruel, bark, &c, be suffered 
to boil over, the strength is lost. 

The cook should be charged to take care of jelly bags, 
tapes for the collared things, &c, which, if not perfectly 
scalded and kept dry, give an unpleasant flavor when 
next used. 

Hard water spoils the color of vegetables ; a pinch of 
pearlash or salt of wormwood will prevent that effect. 

When sirloins of beef, loins of veal or mutton come 
in, part of the suet may be cut off for puddings, or to 
clarify; dripping will baste everything as well as butter, 
fowls and game excepted; and for kitchen pies nothing 
else should be used. 

Meat and vegetables that the frost has touched should 
be soaked in cold water two or three hours before they 
are used, or more if much iced ; when put into hot water, 



xvi 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



or to the fire until thawed, no heat will dress them pro- 
perly. 

Meat should be well examined when it comes in, in 
warm weather. In the height of the summer it is a very 
safe way to let meat that is to be salted lie an hour in 
cold water; then wipe it perfectly dry, and have ready 
salt, and rub it thoroughly into every part, leaving a hand- 
ful over it besides. Turn it every day and rub the pickle 
in, which will make it ready for the table in three or four 
days ; if it is desired to be very much corned, wrap it in 
a well-floured cloth, having rubbed it previously with 
salt. The latter method will corn fresh beef fit for table 
the day it comes in; but it must be put into the pot when 
the water boils. 

If the weather permits, meat eats much better for 
hanging two or three days before it be salted. 

The water in which meat has been boiled makes an 
excellent soup for the poor, when vegetables, oatmeal, 
or peas are added, and should not be cleared from the 
fat. Roast beef bones, or shank bones of ham, make fine 
peas soup, and should be boiled with the peas the day 
before eaten, that the fat may be removed. The mistress 
of the house will find many great advantages in visiting 
her larder daily before she orders the bill of fare; she 
will see what things require dressing, and thereby guard 
against their being spoiled. Many articles may be re 



MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. Xvii 

dressed in a different form from that in which they are 
first served, and improve the appearance of the table 
without increasing the expense. 

In every sort of provisions, the best of the kind goes 
farthest ; cutting out most advantageously, and affording 
most nourishment. 

Round of beef, fillet of veal, and leg of mutton, bear 
a higher price ; but having more solid meat, deserve the 
preference. It is worth notice, however, that those 
joints which are inferior may be dressed as palatably, 
and being cheaper ought to be bought in turn; and when 
weighed with the prime pieces, the price of the latter is 
reduced. 

In loins of meat, the long pipe which runs by the bone 
should be taken out, being apt to taint, as likewise the 
kernels of beef. 

Rumps and aitch bones of beef are often bruised by 
the blows the drovers give, and that part always taints : 
avoid purchasing such. 

The shank bones of mutton should be saved, and after 
soaking and bruising may be added to give richness to 
gravies and soups, and they are particularly nourishing 
for the sick. 

Calves' tongues, salted, make a more useful dish than 
when dressed with the brains, which may be served 
without. 

2* 



xviii 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



Some people like neats' tongues cured with the root, 
in which case they look much larger ; but should the 
contrary be approved, the root must be cut off close to 
the gullet, next to the tongue, but without taking away 
the fat under the tongue. The root must be soaked in 
salt and water, and extremely well cleaned before it be 
dressed ; and the tongue laid in salt for a night and day 
before pickled. 

Great attention is requisite in salting meat, and in the 
country, where great quantities are cured, it is of still 
more importance. Beef and pork should be well sprinkled, 
and a few hours after hung to drain, before it be rubbed 
with the preserving salts; which mode, by cleansing the 
meat from the blood, tends to keep it from tasting strong; 
it should be turned daily, and, if wanted soon, rubbed. 
A salting tub may be used, and a cover should fit close. 
Those who use a good deal of salt will find it well to 
boil up the pickle, skim, and when cold pour it over 
meat that has been sprinkled and drained. In some 
families great loss is sustained by the spoiling of meat. 
If meat is brought from a distance in warm weather, the 
butcher should be charged to cover it close, and bring it 
early in the morning. 

Mutton will keep long, by washing with vinegar the 
broad end of the leg; if any damp appears, wipe it im- 
mediately. If rubbed with salt lightly, it will not eat 



MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 



xix 



the worse. Game is brought in when not likely to keep 
a day, in the cook's apprehension, yet may be preserved 
two or three days if wanted, by the following method : 
If birds (woodcocks and snipes excepted, which must 
not be drawn), draw them, pick and take out the crop, 
wash them in two or three waters, and rub them with 
a little salt. Have ready a large saucepan of boiling 
water, put the birds in it, and let them remain five 
minutes, moving it, that it may go through them. 
When all are finished, hang them by the heads in a cold 
place ; when drained, pepper the inside and necks ; when 
to be roasted, wash, to take off the pepper. The most 
delicate birds, even grouse, may be kept this way, if not 
putrid. 

Birds that live by suction, &c, bear being high : it is 
probable that the heat might cause them to taint more, 
as a free passage for the scalding water could not be ob- 
tained. 

Fresh-water fish has often a muddy taste, to take off 
which, soak it in strong salt and water ; or, if of a size 
to bear it, give it a scald in the same, after extremely 
good cleaning and washing. 

In the following, and indeed all other receipts, though 
the quantities may be as accurately set down as possible, 
yet much must be left to the discretion of the persons 
who use them. 



XX 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



The different taste of people requires more or less of 
the flavor of spices, garlic, butter, &c, which can never 
be directed by general rules, and if the cook has not a 
good taste, and attention to that of her employers, not 
all the ingredients with which nature or art can furnish 
her will give an exquisite relish to her dishes. 

The proper articles should be at hand, and she must 
proportion them until the true zest be obtained. 



March, 1864. 



poetical €m\- 




SOUPS. 

TURTLE SOUP. 

Sons of Apicius ! say, can Europe's seas, 
Can aught the edible creation yield 
Compare with turtle, boast of land and wave? 

Grainger. 

And, zounds ! who would grudge 
Turtle soup, though it came to five guineas the bowl ? 

Moore. 

The day before you dress a turtle, chop the 
herbs, and make the forcemeat; then, on the pre- 
ceding evening, suspend the turtle by the two 
hind fins with a cord, and put one round the neck 
with a heavy weight attached to it to draw out 
the neck, that the head may be cut off with more 
ease ; let the turtle hang all night, in which time 
the blood will be well drained from the body. 
Then, early in the morning, having your stoves 
and plenty of hot water in readiness, take the 
turtle, lay it on the table on its back, and with a 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



strong pointed knife cut round the under shell 
(which is the callipee), — there are joints at each 
end, which must be carefully found, — gently sepa- 
rating it from the callipash (which is the upper 
shell); be careful that in cutting out the gut you 
do not break the gall. When the callipee and the 
callipash are perfectly separated, take out that 
part of the gut that leads from the throat; that 
with the hearts put into a basin of water by them- 
selves, the other interior part put away. Take 
the callipee, and cut off the meat which adheres 
to it in four quarters, laying it on a clean dish. 
Take twenty pounds of veal, chop it up, and set it 
in a large pot, as directed for espagnoles, putting 
in the flesh of the turtle at the same time, with all 
kinds of turtle herbs, carrots, onions, one pound 
and a half of lean ham, peppercorns, salt, and a 
little spice, and two bay leaves, leaving it to stew 
till it take the color of espagnole ; put the fins — the 
skin scalded off — and hearts in, half an hour before 
you fill it, with half water, and half beef stock, then 
carefully skim it; put in a bunch of parsley, and 
let it boil gently like consomme. While the turtle 
is stewing, carefully scald the head, the callipee, 
and all that is soft of the callipash, attentively 
observing to take off the smallest skin that may 
remain; put them with the gut into a large pot of 
water to boil till tender; when so, take them out 



SOUPS. 



23 



and cut them in squares, putting them in a basin 
by themselves till wanted for the soup. The next 
thing is the thickening of the soup, which must be 
prepared in the same manner as sauce tournee. 
The turtle being well done, take out the fins and 
hearts, and lay them on a dish; the whole of the 
liquor must pass through a sieve into a large pan ; 
then with a ladle take off all the fat, put it into a 
basin, then mix in the turtle liquor (a small quan- 
tity at a time), with the thickening made the same 
as tournee; but it does not require to, neither 
must it, be one-twentieth part as thick. Set it 
over a brisk fire, and continue stirring till it boils. 
When it has boiled gently for one hour put in the 
callipee and callipash with the guts, hearts, and 
some of the best of the meat and head, all cut in 
squares, with the forcemeat balls and herbs, which 
you should have ready chopped and stewed in 
espagnole ; the herbs and parsley, lemon, thyme, 
marjoram, basil, savory, and a few chopped mush- 
rooms. 

It must be carefully attended to and skimmed, 
and one hour and a half before dinner put in a 
bottle of Madeira wine, and nearly half a bottle 
of brandy, keeping it continually boiling gently, 
and skimming it, then take a basin, put a little 
cayenne into it, with the juice of six lemons 
squeezed through a sieve. When the dinner is 



24 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



wanted, skim the turtle, stir it well up, and put a 
little salt, if necessary ; then stir the cayenne and 
lemon juice in, and ladle it into the tureen. This 
receipt will answer for a turtle between fifty and 
sixty pounds. 



CHICKEN BROTH. 



The chicken broth was brought at nine ; 
He then arose to ham and wine, 
And, with a philosophic air, 
Decided on the bill of fare. 



Take the remaining parts of a chicken from 
which panada has been made, all but the rump ; 
skin, and put them into the water it was first 
boiled in, with the addition of a little mace, onion, 
and a few pepper-corns, and simmer it. When of 
a good flavor, put to it a quarter of an ounce of 
sweet almond beaten with a spoonful of water; 
boil it a little while, and when cold take off the 
fat. 



25 



FISH. 

TO STEW FISH WHITE. 

His soup scientific, — his fishes quite prime ; 
- His pates superb, and his cutlets sublime. 

Moore. 

Let your fish be cleaned and salted ; save your 
melts or kows. Cut three onions and parsley root, 
boil them in a pint of water ; cut your fish in pieces 
to suit; take some clever sized pieces, cut them 
from the bone, chop them fine, mix with them the 
melts, crumbs of bread, a little ginger, one egg 
well beaten, leeks, green parsley, all made fine; 
take some bread, and make them in small balls ; 
lay your fish in your stewpan, layer of fish 
and layer of onions; sprinkle with ginger, pour 
cold water over to cover your fish; let it boil till 
done, then lay your fish nicely on a dish. To 
make the sauce, take the juice of a large lemon 
and yolk of an egg, ay ell beaten together, tea- 
spoonful of flour; mix it gradually with half a 
pint of the water the fish was done in, then with 
all your water put in your balls ; let it boil very 
quick ; when done throw the balls and gravy over 
your fish. 

3 



26 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



ANOTHER WAY TO STEW FISH. 

Behold, the dishes due appear ! 
Fish in the van, beef in the rear. 
Ah ! all the luxury of fish, 
With scalding sauce. 

Boil six onions in water till tender, strain, and 
cut them in slices. Put your fish, cut in slices, in 
a stewpan with a quart of water, salt, pepper, 
ginger and rnace to suit taste ; let it boil fifteen 
minutes; add the onions, and forcemeat balls 
made of chopped fish, grated bread, chopped 
onion, parsley, marjoram, mace, pepper, ginger 
and salt, and five eggs beat up with a spoon into 
balls, and drop them into the pan of fish when 
boiling; cover close for ten minutes, take it off the 
fire, and then add six eggs with the juice of five 
lemons ; stir the gravy very slowly, add chopped 
parsley, and let it all simmer on a slow fire, keep- 
ing the pan in motion until it just boils, when it 
must be taken off quickly, or the sauce will break. 
A little butter or sweet oil added to the balls is 
an improvement. If you meet with good success 
in the cooking of this receipt, you will often have 
stewed fish. 



FISH. 



27 



PERCH WITH WINE. 

Here haddock, hake, and flounders are, 
And eels, and perch, and cod. 

Green. 

Having scalded and taken out the gills, put the 
perch into a stew-pan, with equal quantities of 
stock and white wine, a bay leaf, a clove of garlic, 
a bunch of parsley, and scallions, two cloves, and 
some salt. 

When done, take out the fish, strain off the 
liquor, the dregs of which mix with some butter 
and a little flour ; beat these up, set them on the 
fire, stewing till quite done, adding pepper, grated 
nutmeg, and a ball of anchovy butter. Drain the 
perch well, and dish them with the above sauce. 

TO STEW FISH BROWN. 

Here stay thy haste, 
And with the savory fisli indulge thy taste. 

Gay. 

Have your fish cleaned, the melts or kows being- 
taken out whole ; salt your fish, and let it lay half 
an hour. Cut your onions in slices, fry them with 
parsley-root, cut in long thin slices, in half a tea- 



28 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



cup of sweet oil, till they become a fine brown. 
"Wash and dry your fish, cut it in pieces, put it in 
your stewpan, layer of fish and layer of browned 
onion, &c. Take a quart of beer, half a pint of 
vinegar, quarter pound of sugar, two tablespoon- 
fuls powdered ginger, mixed well together, pour 
over your fish till covered. When putting your 
fish in the pan, split the head in two, and place it 
at the bottom, the smaller pieces on the top, the 
rows uppermost ; let them cook very quick. Take 
out your fish, lay it nicely on a dish, mix a little 
flour in your gravy, give it a boil, throw it over 
the fish, and let it stand to cool. 



ROASTED STURGEON. 



Your betters will despise you, if they see 
Things that are far surpassing your degree ; 
Therefore beyond your substance never treat ; 
'Tis plenty, in small fortune, to be neat ; 
A widow has cold pie, nurse gives you cake, 
From generous merchants ham or sturgeon take. 

King. 



Take a large piece of sturgeon, or a whole small 
one, clean and skin it properly, lard it with eel 
and anchovies, and marinade it in a white wine 
marmalade. Fasten it to the spit and roast it, 



FISH. 



29 



basting frequently with the marinade strained. 
Let the fish be a nice color, and serve with a 
pepper sauce. 

BOILED SALMON. 

Red speckled trouts, the salmon's silver jole, 

The jointed lobster and unscaly sole, 

And luscious scallops to allure the tastes 

Of rigid zealots to delicious feasts ; 

Wednesdays and Fridays, you'll observe from hence, 

Days when our sins were doomed to abstinence. 

Gay. 

Put on a fish-kettle, with spring water enough 
to well cover the salmon you are going to dress, or 
the salmon will neither look nor taste well (boil 
the liver in a separate saucepan). When the water 
boils put in a handful of salt, take off the scum as 
soon as it rises; have the fish well washed, put it 
in, and if it is thick, let it boil very gently. Sal- 
mon requires as much boiling as meat ; about a 
quarter of an hour to a pound of meat ; but prac- 
tice can only perfect the cook in dressing salmon. 

A quarter of a salmon will take as long boiling 
as half a one. You must consider the thickness, 
not the weight. 

3* 



30 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



Obs. The thinnest part of the fish is the fattest, 
and if you have a " grand gourmand" at table, ask 
him if he is for thick or thin. 

Lobster sauce and rye bread should be eaten 
with boiled salmon. 

BOILED LOBSTER. 

But soon, like lobster boiVd ) the morn 
From black to red began to turn. 

Butler. 

Those of the middle size are best. The male 
lobster is preferred to eat, and the female to make 
aSauce of. Set on a pot with water, salted in pro- 
portion of a tablespoonful of salt to a quart of 
water. When the water boils, put it in, and keep 
it boiling briskly from half an hour to an hour, 
according to its size ; wipe all the scum off it, and 
rub the shell with a little butter or sweet oil, break 
off the great claws, crack them carefully in each 
joint, so that they may not be shattered, and yet 
come to pieces easily, cut the tail down the middle, 
and send the body whole. 



FISH. 



31 



OYSTERS. 

The man had sure a palate cover'd o'er 
With brass or steel, that on the rocky shore 
First broke the oozy oyster's pearly coat, 
And risk'd the living morsel down his throat. 

Gay. 

Common people are indifferent about the man- 
ner of opening oysters, and the time of eating 
them, after they are opened. Nothing, however, is 
more important in the enlightened eyes of the 
experienced oyster-eater. Those who wish to en- 
joy this delicious restorative in its utmost perfec- 
tion must eat it the moment it is opened, with its 
own gravy in the under shell. If not eaten while 
absolutely alive, its flavor and spirit are lost. 

FRIED OYSTERS. 

You shapeless nothing, in a dish ! 
You, that are but almost a fish ! 

Cowper. 

The largest and finest oysters should be chosen 
for frying. Simmer them in their own liquor for a 
couple of minutes ; take them out, and lay them on 
a cloth to drain ; beard them, and then flour them, 
egg and breadcrumb them, put them into boiling 
fat, and fry them a delicate brown. 



32 



POETICAL 



COOK-BOOK. 



A much better way is to beat the yolks of eggs, 
and mix with the grated bread, a small quan- 
tity of beaten nutmeg and mace, and a little salt. 
Having stirred this batter well, dip your oysters 
into it, and fry them in lard, till they are a light 
brown color. Take care not to do them too much. 
Serve them up hot. For grated bread, some sub- 
stitute crackers pounded to a powder, and mixed 
with yolk of egg and spice. 



STEWED OYSTERS. 

By nerves about our palate placed, 
She likewise judges of the taste. 
Who would ask for her opinion 
Between an oyster and an onion? 

Doxxe. 

Stew with a quart of oysters, and their liquor 
strained, a glass of white wine, one anchovy 
bruised, seasoned with white pepper, salt, a little 
mace, and a bunch of sweet herbs ; let all stew 
gently an hour, or three quarters. Pick out the 
bunch of herbs, and add a quarter pound of fresh 
butter kneaded in a large tablespoonful of flour, 
and stew them ten or twelve minutes. 

Serve them garnished with bread sippets and 
cut lemon. They may be stewed simply in their 



FISH. 



33 



own liquor, seasoned with salt, pepper, and grated 
nutmeg, and thickened with cream, flour, and 
butter. 

OYSTER LOAVES. 

'Tis no one thing ; it is not fruit, nor root, 
Nor poorly limited with head or foot. 

Donne. 

Cut off the tops of some small French rolls, take 
out the crumb, fry them brown and crisp with 
clarified butter, then fry some breadcrumbs ; stew 
the requisite quantity of oysters, bearded and cut 
in two, in their liquor, with a little white wine, 
some gravy, and seasoned with grated lemon-peel, 
powdered mace, pepper and salt ; add a bit of but- 
ter, fill the rolls with oysters, and serve them w T ith 
the fried breadcrumbs in a dish. 

SCALLOPED OYSTERS. 

What will not luxury taste ? Earth, sea, and air, 
Are daily ransack'd for the bills of fare. 

Gay. 

Stew the oysters slowly in their own liquor for 
two or three minutes, take them out w r ith a spoon, 
beard them, and skim the liquor, put a bit of but- 



34 POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 

ter into a stewpan ; when it is melted, add as much 
fine breadcrumbs as will dry it up ; then put to it 
the oyster liquor, and give it a boil up ; put the 
oysters into scallop shells that you have buttered, 
and strewed with breadcrumbs, then a layer of 
oysters, then breadcrumbs, and then again oysters ; 
moisten it with the oyster liquor, cover them with 
breadcrumbs, put about half a dozen little bits of 
butter on the top of each, and brown them in a 
Dutch oven. 

Essence of anchovy, ketchup, cayenne, grated 
lemon-peel, mace, and other spices are added by 
those who prefer piquance to the genuine flavor of 
the oyster, 



35 



MEATS. 

VENISON. 

Thanks, my lord, for your venison ; for finer or fatter 
Never ranged in a forest or smoked in a platter. 
The haunch was a picture for painters to study, 
The fat was so white, and the lean was so ruddy. 

Goldsmith. 

The haunch of buck will take about three hours 
and three quarters roasting. Put a coarse paste 
of brown flour and water, and a paper over that, 
to cover all the fat ; baste it well with dripping, 
and keep it at a distance, to get hot at the bones 
by degrees. When near done, remove the cover- 
ing, and baste it with butter, and froth it up before 
you serve. Gravy for it should be put in a boat, 
and not in the dish (unless there be none in the 
venison), and made thus : cut off the fat from two 
or three pounds of a loin of old mutton, and set it 
in steaks on a gridiron for a few minutes, just to 
brown one side ; put them in a saucepan with a 
quart of water, cover quite close for an hour, and 
gently simmer it ; then uncover, and stew till the 
gravy be reduced to a pint. Season only with 
salt. 



36 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



VENISON PASTY. 

And now that I think on't, as I am a sinner! 
We wanted this venison to make out the dinner. 
What say you? & pasty! it shall and it must, 
And my wife, little Kitty, is famous for crust. 
" What the de'il, mon, a pasty !" re-echoed the Scot. 
" Though splitting, I'll still keep a corner for that." 
" We'll all keep a corner," the lady cried out ; 
"We will all keep a corner!" was echoed about. 

Goldsmith. 

Cut a neck or breast into small steaks, rub them 
over with a seasoning of sweet herbs, grated nut- 
meg, pepper and salt ; fry them slightly in butter. 
Line the sides and edges of a dish with puff paste, 
lay in the steaks, and add half a pint of rich gravy, 
made with the trimmings of the venison ; add a 
glass of port wine, and the juice of half a lemon 
or teaspoonful of vinegar ; cover the dish with puff 
paste, and bake it nearly two hours; some more 
gravy may be poured into the pie before serving it. 

ROAST BEEF. 

And aye a rowth, a roast beef and claret : 
Syne wha wad starve ! 

Burns. 

The noble sirloin of about fifteen pounds will 
require to be before the fire about three and a half 



MEATS. 



37 



to four hours ; take care to spit it evenly, that it 
may not be heavier on one side than on the other ; 
put a little clean dripping into the dripping-pan 
(tie a sheet of pap§r over to preserve the fat) ; 
baste it well as soon as it is put down, and every 
quarter of an hour all the time it is roasting, till 
the last half hour ; then take off the paper and 
make some gravy for it. Stir the fire, and make 
it clear; to brown and froth it, sprinkle a little salt 
over it, baste it with butter, and dredge it with 
flour ; let it go a few minutes longer till the froth 
rises, take it up, put it on the dish, and serve it. 

BEEF A LA BRAISE. 

In short, dear, " a Dandy" describes what I mean, 
And Bob's far the best of the gems I have seen, 
But just knows the names of French dishes and cooks, 
As dear Pa knows the titles and authors of books ; 
Whose names, think how quick! he already knows pat, 
A la braise, petit pates, and — what d'ye call that 
They inflict on potatoes ? Oh ! maitre d'hotel. 
I assure you, dear Dolly, he knows them as well 
As if nothing but these all his life he had eat, 
Though a bit of them Bobby has never touched yet. 
I can scarce tell the difference, at least as to phrase, 
Between beef d la Psyche and curls d la braise, 

Moore. 

Bone a rump of beef, lard it very thickly with 
salt pork seasoned with pepper, salt, cloves, mace, 

4 



38 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



and allspice, and season the beef with pepper and 
salt ; put some slices of bacon into the bottom of 
the pan, with some whole black pepper, a little all- 
spice, one or two bay leaves,*two onions, a clove 
of garlic, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Put in the 
beef, and lay over it some slices of bacon, two 
quarts of weak stock, and half a pint of white wine. 
Cover it closely, and let it stew between six and 
seven hours. Sauce for the beef is made of part 
of the liquor it has been stewed in, strained, and 
thickened with a little flour and butter, adding 
some green onions cut small, and pickled mush- 
rooms. Pour it over the beef. 



BEEF BAKED WITH POTATOES. 

The funeral battd meats 
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. 

Shakspeare. 

Boil some potatoes, peel, and pound them in a 
mortar with two small onions ; moisten them with 
milk and an egg beaten up, add a little salt and 
pepper. Season slices of beef or mutton-chops 
with salt and pepper, and more onion, if the flavor 
is approved. Rub the bottom of a pudding-dish 
with butter, and put a layer of the mashed pota- 
toes, which should be as thick as a batter, and then 



MEATS. 



39 



a layer of meat, and so on alternately till the dish 
is filled, ending with potatoes. Bake it in an oven 
for an hour. 

BEEF RAGOUT. 

Is there, then, that o'er his French ragout, 
Looks down wi' sneering, scornful view, 

On sic a dinner? 

Burns. 

Take a rump of beef, cut the meat from the 
bone, flour and fry it, pour over it a little boiling 
water, about a pint of small-beer, add a carrot or 
two, an onion stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, 
salt, a piece of lemon-peel, a bunch of sweet herbs; 
let it stew an hour, then add some good gravy ; 
when the meat is tender take it out and strain the 
sauce ; thicken it with a little flour ; add a little 
celery ready boiled, a little ketchup, put in the 
meat ; just simmer it up. 

BEEF KIDNEYS. 

Or one's kidney, — imagine, Dick, — done with champagne. 

Moore. 

Having soaked a fresh kidney in cold water and 
dried it in a cloth, cut it into mouthfuls, and then 
mince it fine; dust it with flour. Put some butter 



40 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



into a stewpan over a moderate fire, and when it 
boils put in the minced kidneys. When you have 
browned it in the butter, sprinkle on a little salt 
and cayenne, and pour in a very little boiling 
water. Add a glass of champagne, or other wine, 
or a large teaspoonful of mushroom ketchup or 
walnut pickle; cover the pan closely, and let it 
stew till the kidney is tender. Send it to table 
hot, in a covered dish. It is eaten generally at 
breakfast. 

BROILED BEEFSTEAKS. 

Time was, when John Ball little difference spied 
'Twixt the foe at his feet er the friend at his side ; 
When he found, such his humor in fighting and eating, 
His foe, like beefsteak, the sweeter for beating. 

Moore. 

If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well, 
It were done quickly. 

Shakspeare. 

Cut the steaks off a rump or the ribs of a fore 
quarter. Have the gridiron perfectly clean, and 
heated over a clear quick fire, lay on the steaks, 
and with meat-tongs, keep turning them constantly, 
till they are done enough ; throw a little salt over 
them before taking them off the fire. Serve as hot 
as possible, plain or with a made gravy and sliced 



MEATS. 



41 



onions, or rub a bit of butter on the steaks the 
moment of serving. Mutton-chops are broiled in 
the same manner. 

SCOTCH HAGGIS. 

Fair fa' your honest sonsie face, 
Great chieftain o' the puddin' race ; 
Aboon them a' ye tak your place, 

Painch, tripe, or thairm, 
Weel are ye wordy of a grace 

As langs my arm. 
His knife see rustic labor dight, 
An' cut you up with ready slight, 
Trenching your gushing entrail bright 

Like onie ditch, 
And then, 0 ! what a glorious sight, 

Warm reekin' rich. 
Ye powers wha mak mankind your care, 
And dish them out their bill of fare, 
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware 

That jaups in lnggies, 
But if ye wish her grateful pray'r, 

Gie her a Haggis, 

Burns. 

Make the haggis bag perfectly clean ; parboil 
the draught', boil the liver very well, so as it will 
grate, dry the meal before the fire, mince the 
draught and a pretty large piece of beef, very 

4* 



42 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



small ; grate about half the liver, mince plenty of 
the suet and some onions small ; mix all these ma- 
terials very well together with a handful or two 
of the dried meal ; spread them on the table, and 
season them properly with salt and mixed spices ; 
take any of the scraps of beef that are left from 
mincing, and some of the water that boiled the 
draught, and make about a choppin (i. e. a quart) 
of good stock of it ; then put all the haggis meat 
into the bag, and that broth in it ; then sew up 
the bag ; put out all the wind before you sew it 
quite close. If you think the bag is thin, you may 
put it in a cloth. 

If it is a large haggis, it will take at least two 
hours boiling. 

N. B. The above is a receipt from Mrs. Maclver, 
a celebrated Caledonian professor of the culinary 
art, who taught and published a book of cookery, 
at Edinburgh, A. D. 1787. 

SALT BEEF. 

The British fleet, which now commands the main, 
Might glorious wreaths of victory obtain, 
Would they take time, would they with leisure work, 
With care would salt their beef, and cure their pork. 
There is no dish, but what our cooks have made 
And merited a charter by their trade. 

King. 

Make a pickle of rock salt and cold water strong 



MEATS. 



43 



enough to bear an egg, let a little salt remain in 
the bottom of the tub ; two quarts of molasses and 
a quarter pound of saltpetre is sufficient for a cwt. 
of beef. It is fit for use in ten days. Boil the 
beef slowly until the bones come out easily, then 
wrap it in a towel, and put a heavy weight on it till 
cold. 

TO PICKLE TONGUES FOR 
BOILING. 

Silence is commendable only 
In a neat's tongue dried. 

Shakspeare. 

Cut off the root, leaving a little of the kernel and 
fat. Sprinkle some salt, and let it drain till next 
day ; then for each tongue, mix a large spoonful of 
common salt, the same of coarse sugar, and about 
half as much of saltpetre ; rub it well in, and do so 
every day. In a week add another heaped spoon- 
ful of salt. If rubbed every day, a tongue will be 
ready in a fortnight ; but if only turned in the 
pickle daily, it will keep four or five weeks with- 
out being too salt. Smoke them or plainly dry 
them, if you like best. When to be dressed, boil 
it extremely tender ; allow five hours, and if done 
sooner, it is easily kept hot. The longer kept 
after drying, the higher it will be ; if hard, it may 
require soaking three or four hours. 



44 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



ROASTED CALF'S LIVER. 

Pray a slice of your liver. 

Goldsmith. 

Wash and wipe it, then cut a long hole in it, and 
stuff it with crumbs of bread, chopped, an anchovy, 
a good deal of fat bacon, onion, salt, pepper, a bit 
of butter, and an egg ; stew the liver up, lard it, 
wrap it in a veal caul, and roast it. Serve with 
good brown gravy and currant jelly. 

SCOTCH COLLOPS. 

A cook has mighty things professed ; 
Then send us but two dishes nicely dressed, — 
One called ScotcJi Collops, 

King. 

Cut veal in thin bits, about three inches over 
and rather round, beat with a rolling-pin ; grate a 
little nutmeg over them ; dip in the yolk of an egg, 
and fry them in a little butter of a fine brown ; 
have ready, warm, to pour upon them, half a pint 
of gravy, a little bit of butter rubbed into a little 
flour, to which put the yolk of an egg, two large 
spoonfuls of cream, and a little salt. 

Do not boil the sauce, but stir until of a fine 
thickness to serve with the collops. 



MEATS. 



45 



STEWED FILLET OF VEAL. 

In truth, I'm confounded 
And bothered, my dear, 'twixt that troublesome boy's 
(Bob's) cookery language, and Madame Le Roi's. 
What with fillets of roses and fillets of veal, 
Things garni with lace, and things garni with eel, 
One's hair and one's cutlets both en papillote, 
And a thousand more things I shall ne'er have by rote. 

Moore. 

Bone, lard, and stuff a fillet of veal ; half roast 
and then stew it with two quarts of white stock, a 
teaspoonful of lemon pickle, and one of mushroom 
ketchup. Before serving strain the gravy, thicken 
it with butter rolled in flour, add a little cayenne, 
salt, and some pickled mushrooms ; heat it and 
pour it over the veal. Have ready two or three 
dozen forcemeat balls to put round it and upon 
the top. Garnish with cut lemon. 

CALF'S HEAD SURPRISED. 

And the dish set before them, — 0 dish well devised ! — 
Was what Old Mother Glasse calls "a calf's head surprised." 

Moore. 

Clean and blanch a calf's head, boil it till the 
bones will come out easily, then bone and press it 
between two dishes, so as to give it a headlong 



46 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



form ; beat it with the yolks of four eggs, a little 
melted butter, pepper and salt. Divide the head 
when cold, and brush it all over with the beaten 
eggs, and strew over it grated bread, which is put 
over one half ; a good quantity of finely minced 
parsley should be mixed ; place the head upon a 
dish, and bake it of a nice brown color. Serve it 
with a sauce of parsley and butter, and with one 
of good gravy, mixed with the brains, which have 
been previously boiled, chopped, and seasoned with 
a little cayenne and salt. 

CALF'S HEAD ROASTED. 

Good L — d ! to see the various ways 
Of dressing a calf's head. 

Shenstone. 

Wash and clean it well, parboil it, take out the 
bones, brains, and tongue ; make forcemeat suffi- 
cient for the head, and some balls with bread- 
crumbs, minced suet, parsley, grated ham, and a 
little pounded veal or cold fowl ; season with salt, 
grated nutmeg, and lemon-peel ; bind it with an 
egg beaten up ; fill the head with it, which must 
then be sewed up, or fastened with skewers and 
tied ; while roasting baste it well with butter ; beat 
up the brains with a little cream, the yolk of an 
egg, some minced parsley, a little pepper and salt ; 



MEATS. 



47 



blanch the tongue and cut it into slices, and fry it 
with the brains, forcemeat balls, and thin slices of 
bacon. 

Serve the head with white or brown thickened 
gravy, and place the tongue and forcemeat balls 
round it. Garnish with cut lemon. It will require 
one hour and a half to roast. 

SALMIS OF WILD DUCK. 

Long as, by bayonets protected, we Watties 
May have our full fling at their salmis and pat6s. 

Moore. 

Cut off the best parts of a couple of roasted wild 
ducks, and put the rest of the meat into a mortar, 
with six shallots, a little parsley, some pepper, 
and a bay leaf; pound all these ingredients well, 
and then put into a saucepan, with four ladlesful 
of stock, half a glass of white wine, the same of 
broth, and a little grated nutmeg ; reduce these to 
half, strain them, and having laid the pieces on a 
dish, cover them with the above ; keep the whole 
hot, not boiling, until wanted for table. 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



STEWED DUCK AND PEAS. 

I give thee all my kitchen lore, 

Though poor the offering be ; 
I'll tell thee how 'tis cooked, before 

You come to dine with me. 
The duck is truss'd from head to heels, 

Then stew'd with butter well, 
And streaky bacon, which reveals 

A most delicious smell. 

When duck and bacon, in a mass, 

You in a stewpan lay, 
A spoon around the vessel pass, 

And gently stir away ; 
A tablespoonful of flour bring, 

A quart of water plain, 
Then in it twenty onions fling, 

And gently stir again. 

A bunch of parsley, and a leaf 

Of ever verdant bay, 
Two cloves, — I make my language brief, 

Then add your peas you may ; 
And let it simmer till it sings 

In a delicious strain ; 
Then take your duck, nor let the strings 

For trussing it remain. 



MEATS. 



49 



The parsley fail not to remove, 

Also the leaf of bay ; 
Dish up your duck, — the sauce improve 

In the accustom' d way, 
With pepper, salt, and other things 

I need not here explain ; 
And if the dish contentment brings, 

You'll dine with me again. 

FOWL A LA HOLLANDAISE. 

Our courtier walks from dish to dish, 
Tastes from his friends of fowl and fish, 
Tells all their names, lays down the law, 
" Que 5a est bon." " Ah ! goutez 9a." 

Pope. 

Make a forcemeat of grated bread, half its quan- 
tity of minced suet, an onion, or a few oysters and 
some boiled parsley, season w T ith pepper, salt, and 
grated lemon-peel, and an egg beaten up to bind it. 
Bone the breast of a good sized young fowl, put in 
the forcemeat, cover the fowl with a piece of white 
paper buttered, and roast it half an hour ; make a 
thick batter of flour, milk, and eggs, take off the 
paper, and pour some of the batter over the fowl ; 
as soon as it becomes dry, add more, and do tins 
till it is all crusted over and a nice brown color, 
serve it with melted butter and lemon pickle, or a 
thickened brown gravy. 

5 



50 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



BOILED TURKEY. 

But man, cursed man, on turkeys preys, 
And Christmas shortens all our days. 
Sometimes with oysters we combine, 
Sometimes assist the savory chine. 
From the low peasant to the lord, 
The turkey smokes on every board. 

Gay. 

Make a stuffing of bread, salt, pepper, nutmeg, 
lemon-peel, a few oysters, a bit of butter, some 
suet, and an egg ; put this into the crop, fasten up 
the skin, and boil the turkey in a floured cloth to 
make it very white. Have ready some oyster 
sauce made rich with butter, a little cream, and a 
spoonful of soy, and serve over the turkey. 

DEVILLED TURKEY. 

And something's here with name uncivil, 

For our cook christens it " A Devil" 

" A Devil, in any shape, sweet maid, 

A parson fears not," Syntax said ; 

"I'll make him minced meat ; 'tis my trade." 

Take cold roast turkey legs, score them well, 
season them with salt and plenty of cayenne pep- 
per and mustard, then broil them. Serve them 
hot* 



MEATS. 



51 



CAPON. 

In good roast beef my landlord sticks his knife, 
The capon fat delights his dainty wife. 

Gay. 

Take a quart of white wine, season the capon 
with salt, cloves, and whole pepper, a few shallots, 
and then put the capon in an earthen pan ; you 
must take care it has not room to shake ; it must 
be covered close, and done over a slow charcoal 
fire. 

CHICKEN CROQUETTES. 

Gargilius, sleek, voluptuous lord, 
A hundred dainties smoke upon his board ; 
Earth, air, and ocean ransack'd for the feast, 
In masquerade of foreign olios dress'd. 

Warton. 

Reduce two spoonfuls of veloute or sauce tournee, 
and add to the yolks of four eggs ; put to this the 
white meat of a chicken, minced very small, and 
well mixed with the sauce ; take it out, and roll it 
into balls, about the size of a walnut ; roll them 
in breadcrumbs, giving them an elongated form ; 
then beat them in some well-beaten egg ; bread 
them again, and fry them of a light brown. 



52 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



LEG OF MUTTON. 

But hang it, to poets, who seldom can eat, 
Your very good mutton ] s a very good treat. 

Goldsmith. 

Cut off the shank bone, and trim the knuckle, 
put it into lukewarm water for ten minutes, wash 
it clean, cover it with cold water, and let it simmer 
very gently, and skim it carefully ; a leg of nine 
pounds will take two and a half or three hours, if 
you like it thoroughly done, especially in very cold 
weather. 

The liquor the mutton is boiled in, you may con- 
vert into good soup in five minutes, and Scotch 
barley broth. Thus managed, a leg of mutton is 
a most economical joint. 



TO CURE HAMS. 

Or urged thereunto by the woes he endured, 
The way to be smoked, is the way to be cured. 

Anonymous. 

But to the fading palate bring relief, 
By the Westphalian ham or Belgic beef. 

King. 



When the weather will permit, hang the ham 
three days ; mix an ounce of saltpetre with one 



MEATS. 



58 



quarter of a pound of bay salt, ditto common salt, 
ditto of coarsest sugar, and a quart of strong beer ; 
boil them together, and pour over immediately on 
the ham ; turn it twice a day in the pickle for three 
weeks. An ounce of black pepper, ditto of pimento 
in finest powder, added to the above, will give still 
more flavor. Cover with bran wdien wiped, and 
smoke from three to four w r eeks, as you approve ; 
the latter will make it harder, and more of the 
flavor of Westphalia. Sew T hams in hessings, L e. 
coarse wrapper, if to be smoked where there is a 
strong fire. 

HAM PIES. 

Each mortal has his pleasure ; none deny 
Scarsdale his bottle, Darby his ham pie. 

DODSLEY. 

Take two pounds of veal cutlets, cut them in 
middling sized pieces, season with pepper and a 
very little salt ; likewise one of raw or dressed 
ham, cut in slices, lay it alternately in the dish, and 
put some forced or sausage meat at the top, with 
some stewed mushrooms, and the yolks of three 
eggs boiled hard, and a gill of water ; then proceed 
as with rumpsteak pie. 

N. B. The best end of a neck is the fine part for 
a pie, cut into chops, and the chine bone taken 
away. 



54 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



ROASTED HARE. 

Turkey and fowl, and ham and chine, 
On which the cits prefer to dine, 
With partridge, too, and eke a Hare, 
The luxuries of country fare, 
She nicely cooked with bounteous care. 

Cut the skin from a hare that has been well 
soaked, put it on the spit, and rub it well with 
Madeira, pricking it in various places that it may 
imbibe plenty of wine ; cover it entirely with a 
paste, and roast it. When done, take away the 
paste, rub it quickly over with egg, sprinkle bread- 
crumbs, and baste it gently with butter (still keep- 
ing it turning before the fire), until a crust is 
formed over it, and it is of a nice brown color ; 
dish it over some espagnole with Madeira wine 
boiled in it ; two or three cloves may be stuck into 
the knuckles, if you think proper. 

FRICASEED RABBITS. 

Your rabbits fricaseed and chicken, 
With curious choice of dainty picking, 
Each night got ready at the Crown, 
With port and punch to wash 'em down. 

Lloyd. 

Take two fine white rabbits, and cut them in 
pieces ; blanch them in boiling water, and skim 



MEATS. 



55 



them for one minute; stir a few trimmings of mush- 
rooms in a stewpan over the fire, with a bit of 
butter, till it begins to fry, then stir in a spoonful 
of flour ; mix into the flour, a little at a time, 
nearly a quart of good consomme, which set on 
the fire, and when it boils put the rabbits in, and 
let them boil gently till done ; then put them in 
another stewpan, and reduce the sauce till nearly 
as thick as paste ; mix in about half a pint of good 
boiling cream, and w T hen it becomes the thickness 
of bechamelle sauce in general, squeeze it through 
the tammy to the rabbits ; make it very hot, put in 
a few mushrooms, the yolk of an egg, a little cream, 
and then serve it to table. 



56 



BIRDS. 

TO ROAST PHEASANTS. 

Little birds fly about with the true pheasant taint, 
And the geese are all born with the liver* complaint. 

Moore. 

Chop some fine raw oysters, omitting the head 
part, mix them with salt and nutmeg, and add 
some beaten yolk of egg to bind the other ingre- 
dients. Cut some very thin slices of cold ham or 
bacon, and cover the birds with them, then wrap 
them in sheets of paper well buttered, put them on 
the spit, and roast them before a clear fire. 

TO ROAST ORTOLANS. 

With all the luxury of statesmen dine, 
On daily feasts of ortolans and wine. 

Cawthorn. 

Put into every bird an oyster, or a little butter 

* The process by which the liver of the unfortunate goose 
is enlarged, in order to produce that richest of all dainties, 
the foie gras, of which such renowned pates are made at 
Strasbourg and Toulouse, is thus described in the " Cours 
Gastronomique :" u On deplumes l'estomac des oies ; on at- 
tache ensuite ces animaux aux chenets d'une cheminee, et on 
le nourrit devant le feu. La captivite et la chaleur donnent a 
ces volatiles une maladie hepatique, qui fait gonflerleur foie.' 



BIRDS. 



57 



mixed with some finely sifted breadcrumbs. Dredge 
them with flour. Run a small skewer through 
them, and tie them on the spit. Baste them with 
lard or fresh butter. They will be done in ten 
minutes. Reed birds are very fine made into little 
dumplings with a thin crust of flour and butter, 
and boiled about twenty minutes. Each must be 
tied in a separate cloth. 

WOODCOCKS. 

And as for your juries — who would not set o'er them 
A jury of tasters, with woodcocks before them ? 

Moore. 

Woodcocks should not be drawn, as the trail is 
by the lovers of " haut gout" considered a " bonne 
bouche." Truss their legs close to the body, and 
run an iron skewer through each thigh, and put 
them to roast before the fire ; toast a slice of bread 
for each bird, lay them in the dripping-pan under 
the bird to catch the trail ; baste them with butter, 
and froth them with flour ; lay the toast on a hot 
dish, and the birds on the toast ; pour some good 
beef gravy into the dish, and send some up in a 
boat. Twenty or thirty minutes will roast them. 
Some epicures like this bird very much underdone, 
and direct that the woodcock should be just intro- 
duced to the cook, for her to show it to the fire, 
then send it to table. 



58 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



BIRDS POTTED. 

"It tastes of the bird, however/' said the old woman, "and 
she cooked the rail of the fence on which the crow had been 
sitting." 

When birds have conie a great way, they often 
smell so bad that they can scarcely be borne from 
the rankness of the butter, by managing them in 
the following manner, they may be as good as ever. 
Set a large saucepan of clean water on the fire, 
when it boils take off the butter at the top, then 
take the fowls out one by one, throw them in the 
saucepan of water half a minute, whip it out, and 
dry it in a cloth inside and out, continue till they 
are all done : scald the pot clean, when the birds 
are quite cold, season them with mace, pepper, and 
salt according to taste, put them down close in a 
pot, and pour clarified butter over them. 

LARKS. 

What say you, lads ? is any spark 
Among you ready for a lark? 

Moore. 

These delicate little birds are in high season in 
November. When they are thoroughly picked, 
gutted, and cleansed, truss them ; do them over with 
the yolk of an egg, and then roll them in bread- 



BIRDS. 



59 



crumbs ; spit them on a lark spit ; ten or fifteen 
minutes will be sufficient time to roast them in, 
before a quick fire ; whilst they are roasting, baste 
them with fresh butter, and sprinkle them with 
breadcrumbs till they are well covered with them. 
Fry some grated bread in butter. Set it to drain 
before the fire, that it may harden ; serve the 
crumbs in the dish under the larks, and garnish 
with slices of lemon. 



60 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

STUFFING FOR VEAL. 

Poor Roger Fowler, who'd a generous mind, 
Nor would submit to have his hand confined, 
But aimed at all, — yet never could excel 
In anything but stuffing of his veal. 

Good stuffing has always been considered a chief 
thing in cookery. Mince a quarter of a pound of 
beef suet or marrow, the same weight of bread- 
crumbs, two drachms of parsley leaves, a drachm 
and a half of sweet marjoram or lemon thyme, and 
the same of grated lemon-peel and onion chopped 
as fine as possible, a little pepper and salt ; pound 
thoroughly together with the yolk and white of 
two eggs, and secure it in the veal with a skewer, 
or sew it in with a bit of thread. 

FORCEMEAT BALLS. 

And own they gave him a lively notion, 
What his own forced meat balls would be. 

Moore. 

Take an equal quantity of lean veal scraped, and 
beef suet shred, beat them in a marble mortar, add 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



61 



pepper, salt, cloves, pounded lemon-peel, and nut- 
meg grated, parsley, and sweet herbs chopped fine, 
a little shallot and young onion, a few breadcrumbs 
grated fine, and yolk of egg, sufficient to work it 
light ; roll this into balls with a little flour, and 
fry them. 

VOL AU VENT. 

Boy, tell the cook I love all nicknackeries, 
Fricasees, vol au vents, puffs, and gimcrackeries. 

Moore. 

Roll off tart paste till about the eighth of an inch 
thick, then with a tin cutter made for that purpose 
cut out the shape (about the size of the bottom of the 
dish you intend sending to table), lay it on a baking- 
plate with paper, rub the paste over with the yolk 
of an egg. Roll out good puff paste an inch thick, 
stamp it with the same cutter, and lay it on the tart 
paste ; then take a cutter two sizes smaller, and 
press it in the centre nearly through the puff paste ; 
rub the top with yolk of egg, and bake it in a quick 
oven about tw T enty minutes, of a light-brown color 
when done ; take out the paste inside the centre 
mark, preserving the top, put it on a dish in a 
warm place, and when wanted fill it with a white 
fricasee of chicken, rabbit, ragout of sweetbread, 
or any other entree you wish. Serve hot. 

| 6 

I I 

i 
i 



62 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



OYSTE*R PATTIE. 

De Beringhen. In the next room there's a delicious pate", 
let's discuss it. 

Baradas. Pshaw ! a man filled with a sublime ambition 
has no time to discuss your pates. 

De Beringhen. Pshaw ! and a man filled with as sublime 
a pate has no time to discuss ambition. Gad, I have the best 
of it, 

Bclwer's Richelieu. 

Beard a quart of fine oysters, strain the liquor 
and add them to it. Cut into thin slices the kid- 
ney-fat of a loin of veal ; season them with white 
pepper, salt, mace, and grated lemon-peel ; lay 
them on the bottom of a pie-dish, put in the 
oysters and liquor, with a little more seasoning; 
put over them the rnarrow of two bones. Lay a 
border of puff paste around the edge of the dish, 
cover it with paste, and bake it nearly three 
quarters of an hour. 

PATTIES FOR FRIED BREAD. 

Seducing young pates, as ever could cozen 
One out of one's appetite, down by the dozen. 

Moore. 

Cut the crumb of a loaf of bread into square or 
round pieces, nearly three inches high, and cut bits 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



63 



the same width for tops. Mark them neatly with 
a knife ; fry the bread of a light-brown color in 
clarified beef-dripping or fine lard; scoop out the 
inside crumb ; take care not to go too near the 
bottom ; fill them with mince-meat prepared as for 
patties, with stewed oysters or with sausage meat ; 
put on the tops, and serve them on a napkin. 

MACARONI GRATIK 

Where so ready all nature its cookery yields, 
Macaroni au Parmesan grows in the fields. 

Moore. 

Lay fried bread pretty closely round a dish ; boil 
your macaroni in the usual way, and pour it into 
the dish ; smooth it all over, and strew bread- 
crumbs on it, then a pretty thick layer of grated 
Parmesan cheese ; drop a little melted butter on it, 
and put it in the oven to brown. 

TRUFFLES. 

What will not Luxury taste? Earth, sea and air 
Are daily ransacked for the bill of fare. 

Gay. 

The truffle, like the mushroom, is a species of 
fungus, common in France and Italy ; it is gene- 
rally about eight to ten inches below the surface 



64 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



of the ground. As it imparts a most delicious 
flavor, it is much used in cookery. 

Being dug out of the earth, it requires a great 
deal of washing and brushing. It loses much of 
its flavor when dried. 

TO STEW MUSHROOMS. 

Muse, sing the man that did to Paris go, 

That he might taste their soups and mushrooms know. 

King. 

Take a pint of white stock ; season it w T ith salt, 
pepper, and a little lemon pickle, thicken it with 
a bit of butter rolled in flour ; clean and peel 
the mushrooms, sprinkle them with a very little 
salt, boil them for three minutes ; put them into 
the gravy when it is hot, and stew them for fifteen 
minutes. 



65 



SAUCES. 

MUSHROOM KETCHUP. 

If you please, 
I'll taste your tempting toasted cheese. 
Broiled ham, and nice mushroomed ketchup. 

If you love good ketchup, gentle reader, make it 
yourself, after the following directions, and you 
will have a delicious relish for made dishes, ragouts, 
soup, sauces, or hashes. Mushroom gravy ap- 
proaches the nature and flavor of made gravy, 
more than any vegetable juice, and is the super- 
lative substitute for it ; in meagre soups and ex- 
tempore gravies, the chemistry of the kitchen has 
yet contrived to agreeably awaken the palate and 
encourage the appetite. 

A couple quarts of double ketchup, made accord- 
ing to the following receipt, will save you some 
score pounds of meat, besides a vast deal of time 
and trouble, as it will furnish, in a few minutes, as 
good sauce as can be made for either fish, flesh, or 
fowl. I believe the following is the best way for 
preparing and extracting the essence of mushrooms, 

G* 



66 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



so as to procure and preserve their flavor for a 
* considerable length of time. 

Look out for mushrooms, from the beginning of 
September. Take care of the right sort and fresh 
gathered. Full-grown flaps are to be preferred. 
Put a layer of these at the bottom of a deep earth- 
en pan, and sprinkle them with salt ; then an- 
other layer of mushrooms, and some more salt on 
them, and so on, alternately, salt and mushrooms ; 
let them remain two or three hours, by which time 
the salt will have penetrated the mushrooms, and 
rendered them easy to break ; then pound them in 
a mortar, or mash them well with your hands, and 
let them remain for a couple of days, not longer, 
stirring them up, and mashing them well each day : 
then pour them into a stone jar, and to each quart 
add an ounce and a half of whole black pepper, 
and half an ounce of allspice ; stop the jar very 
close, and set in a stewpan of boiling water, and 
keep it boiling for two hours at least. 

Take out the jar, and pour the juice, clear from 
the settlings, through a hair sieve (without squeez- 
ing the mushrooms), into a clean stewpan ; let it 
boil very gently for half an hour. Those who are for 
superlative ketchup, will continue the boiling till 
the mushroom juice is reduced to half the quantity. 
There are several advantages attending this con- 
centration : it will keep much better, and only half 



SAUCES. 



67 



the quantity required ; so you can flavor sauce, 
&c, without thinning it; neither is this an extra- 
vagant way of making it, for merely the aqueous 
part is evaporated. Skim it well, and pour it into 
a clean dry jar or jug ; cover it close, and let it 
stand in a cool place till next day ; then pour it 
off as gently as possible (so as not to disturb the 
settlings at the bottom of the jug), through a tamis 
or thick flannel bag, till it is perfectly clear ; add 
a tablespoonful of good brandy to each pint of ket- 
chup, and let it stand as before ; a fresh sediment 
will be deposited, from which the ketchup is to be 
quietly poured off and bottled in pints or half pints 
(which have been washed in brandy or spirits). It 
is best to keep it in such quantities as are soon 
used. 

Take especial care that it is closely corked and 
sealed down. If kept in a cool dry place, it may 
be preserved for a long time ; but if it be badly 
corked, and kept in a damp place, it will soon 
spoil. 

Examine it from time to time, by placing a 
strong light behind the neck of the bottle, and if 
any pellicle appears about it, boil it up again with 
a few peppercorns. 



68 



POETICAL 



COOK-BOOK. 



SUPERLATIVE SAUCE. 

\Yho praises, in this sauce enamor'd age, 

Calm, healthful temperance, like an Indian sage? 

Wartox. 

Claret or Port wine and mushroom ketchup, a 
pint of each ; half a pint of walnut or other pickle 
liquor ; pounded anchovies, four ounces ; fresh 
lemon-peel, pared very thin, an ounce ; peeled 
and sliced eschalots, the same ; scraped horse- 
radish, ditto ; allspice and black pepper, powdered, 
half an ounce each : cayenne, one drachm, or 
curry powder, three drachms; celery seed, bruised, 
one drachm ; all avoirdupois weight. Put these 
into a wide-mouthed bottle, stop it close, shake it 
everv clav for a fortnight, and strain it (when some 
think it improved by the addition of a quarter of a 
pint of soy or thick browning), and you will have 
" a delicious double relish." Dr. Kitchener says, 
this composition is one of the chefs d'oeuvres of 
many experiments he has made, for the purpose of 
enabling good housewives to prepare their own 
sauces ; it is equally agreeable with fish, game, 
poultry, or ragouts. &c. ; and as a fair lady may 
make it herself, its relish will be not a little aug- 
mented, that all the ingredients are good and 
wholesome. 

Ohs. Under an infinity of circumstances, a cook 



SAUCES. 



69 



may be in want of the substances necessary to 
make sauce ; the above composition of the several 
articles from which the various gravies derive their 
flavor, will be found a very admirable extempora- 
neous substitute. By mixing a large tablespoonful 
with a quarter of a pint of thickened melted but- 
ter, or broth, five minutes will finish a boat of very 
relishing sauce, nearly equal to drawn gravy, and 
as likely to put your lingual nerves into good 
humor as anything I know. 



MINT SAUCE. 



"Live bullion," says merciless Bob, " which I think 
Would, if coined with a little mint sauce, be delicious." 

Moore. 

Wash half a handful of nice, young, fresh-ga- 
thered green mint (to this add one-third the quan- 
tity of parsley), pick the leaves from the stalks, 
mince them very fine, and put them into a sauce- 
boat, with a teaspoonful of moist sugar and four 
tablespoonfuls of vinegar. 



7" 



P 0 EIICAL 



C 0 0 K-EOOK. 



CRANBERRY SAUCE. 

Our fathers most admired their sauces sweet, 
Aud often asked for sugar with then" meat. 

King. 

Wash a quart of ripe cranberries, and put them 
into a pan with just about a teacup of water; stew 
thein slowly and stir them frequently, particularly 
after they begin to burst. They require a great 
deal of stewing, and should be like marmalade 
when done. When they are broken and the juice 
comes out, stir in a pound of white sugar. When 
they are thoroughly done, put them into a deep dish, 
and set them away to get cold. You may strain 
the pulp through a cullender or sieve into a mould, 
and when it is a firm shape send it to table. 

Cranberry sauce is eaten with roast fowl, tur- 
key. &c. 

CAPER SAUCE. 

Along these shores 
Neglected trade with difficulty toils, 
Collecting slender stores : the sun-dried grape, 
Or capers from the rock, that prompt the taste 
Of luxury. 

Dyer. 

To make a quarter of a pint, take a tablespoon- 
ful of capers and two teaspoonfuls of vinegar. 



SAUCES. 71 

The present fashion of cutting capers is to mince 
one-third of them very fine, and divide the others 
in half ; put them into a quarter of a pint of melted 
butter, or good thickened gravy ; stir them the 
same way as you did the melted butter, or it will 
oil. Some boil and mince fine a few leaves of 
parsley or chevrel or tarragon, and add to the 
sauce ; others, the juice of half a Seville orange or 
lemon. 



72 



VEGETABLES. 

Grateful and salutary Spring ! the plants 

Which crown thy numerous gardens, and invite 

To health and temperance, in the simple meal, 

Unstain'd with murder, undefil'd with blood, 

Unpoison'd with rich sauces, to provoke 

The unwilling appetite to gluttony. 

For this, the bulbous esculents their roots 

With sweetness fill ; for this, with cooling juice 

The green herb spreads its leaves ; and opening buds 

And flowers and seeds with various flavors tempts 

Th' ensanguined palate from its savage feast. 

Dodslet. 

As to the quality of vegetables, the middle size 
are preferred to the largest or smallest ; they are 
more tender, juicy, and full of flavor, just before 
they are quite full grown. Freshness is their 
chief value and excellence, and I should as soon 
think of roasting an animal alive, as of boiling a 
vegetable after it is dead. 

To boil them in soft water will preserve the color 
best of such as are green ; if you have only hard 
water, put to it a teaspoonful of carbonate of potash. 

Take care to wash and cleanse them thoroughly 
from dust, dirt, and insects. This requires great 
attention. 



VEGETABLES. 



73 



If you wish to have vegetables delicately clean, 
put on your pot, make it boil, put a little salt in 
it, and skim it perfectly clean before you put in 
the greens, &c, which should not be put in till the 
water boils briskly; the quicker they boil, the 
greener they will be. When the vegetables sink, 
they are generally done enough,—if the water has 
been kept constantly boiling. Take them up im 
mediately, or they will lose their color and good- 
ness. Drain the water from them thoroughly 
before vou send them to table. 

This branch of cookery requires the most vigi- 
lant attention. 

TO DRESS SALAD. 

Two large potatoes, pressed through kitchen sieve, 
Smoothness and softness to the salad give; 
Of mordant mustard add a single spoon ; 
Distrust the condiment that bites too soon ; 
But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fault, 
To add a double quantity of salt. 
Four times the spoon with oil of Lucca crow T n, 
And twice with vinegar procured from town ; 
True flavor needs it, and your poet begs 
The pounded yellow T of two boiled eggs ; 
Let onion's atoms lurk within the bowl, 
And, scarce suspected, animate the whole ; 

7 



74 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



And, lastly, in the flavored compound toss 
A magic spoonful of anchovy sauce. 
0 great and glorious ! 0 herbaceous treat ! 
'Twould tempt the dying anchorite to eat, 
Back to the world he'd turn his weary soul, 
And plunge his fingers in the salad bowl. 

Rev. Sidney Smith. 

If the herbs be young, fresh-gathered, trimmed 
neatly, and drained dry and the sauce-maker pon- 
ders patiently over the above directions, he cannot 
fail of obtaining the fame of being a very accom- 
plished salad-dresser. 

ONIONS. 

The things we eat, by various juice control 
The narrowness or largeness of our soul. 
Onions will make e'en heirs or widows weep ; 
The tender lettuce brings on softer sleep. 

King 

Peel a pint of button onions, and put them in 
water till you want to put them on to boil ; put 
them into a stewpan, with a quart of cold water ; 
let them boil till tender ; they will take (according 
to their size and age) from half an hour to an hour. 



VEGETABLES. 



75 



ARTICHOKES. 

Whose appetites would soon devour 
Each cabbage, artichoke, and flower. 

Cawthorne. 

Soak them in cold water, wash them well, then 
put them into plenty of boiling water, with a hand- 
ful of salt, and let them boil gently till tender, 
which will take an hour and a half or two hours. 
The surest way to know when they are done enough 
is to draw out a leaf. Trim them and drain them 
on a sieve, and send up melted butter with them, 
which some put into small cups, so that each guest 
may have one. 



LIMA BEANS. 

Now fragrant with the bean's perfume, 
Now purpled with the pulse's bloom, 
Might well with bright allusions store me; 
But happier bards have been before me. 

Shenstone. 



These are generally considered the finest of all 
beans, and should be gathered young. Shell them, 
lay them in a pan of cold water, and then boil them 
about two hours, or till they are quite soft ; drain 
them well, and add to them some butter. They 



76 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK, 



are destroyed by the first frost, but can be kept 
during the winter by gathering them on a dry day, 
when full grown, but not the least hard, and putting 
them in their pods into a keg. Throw some salt 
into the bottom of the keg, and cover it with a 
layer of bean pods, then add more salt, and then 
another layer of beans in their pods, till the keg is 
full. Press them down with a heavy weight, cover 
the keg closely, and keep it in a cool, dry place. 
Before you use them, soak the pods all night in cold 
water, the next day shell them, and soak the beans 
till you are ready to boil them. 

POTATOES. 

Leeks to the Welsh, to Dutchmen butters dear; 
Of Irish swains, potatoes is the cheer. 

Gay. 

Wash them, but do not pare or cut them, unless 
they are very large. Fill a saucepan half full of 
potatoes of equal size (or make them so by dividing 
the larger ones), put to them as much cold water 
as will cover them about an inch ; they are sooner 
boiled, and more savory than when drowned in 
water. Most boiled things are spoiled by having 
too little w r ater ; but potatoes are often spoiled by 
having too much ; they must be merely covered, 
and a little allowed for waste in boiling, so that 



VEGETABLES. 



77 



they may be just covered at the finish. Set them 
on a moderate fire till they boil ; then take 
them off, and put them by the side of the fire to 
simmer slowly till they are soft enough to admit 
a fork. Place no dependence on the usual test 
of their skins cracking, which, if they are boiled 
fast, will happen to some potatoes when they are 
not half done, and the insides quite hard. Then 
pour the water off — (if you let the potatoes remain 
in the water a moment after they are done enough, 
they will become waxy and watery), — uncover the 
soucepan, and set it at such a distance from the fire 
as will secure it from burning ; their superfluous 
moisture will evaporate, and the potatoes will be 
perfectly dry and mealy. 

You may afterwards place a napkin, folded up 
to the size of the saucepan's diameter, over the 
potatoes, to keep them hot and mealy till wanted. 

This method of managing potatoes is in every 
respect equal to steaming them, and they are 
dressed in half the time. 

There is such an infinite variety of sorts and 
sizes of potatoes, it is impossible to say how long 
they will take doing : the best way is to try them 
with a fork. Moderate sized potatoes will gene- 
rally be done enough in fifteen or twenty minutes. 



7* 



78 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



PEAS. 

Your infant yeas to asparagus prefer ; 
Which to the supper you may best defer. 

King. 



Young green peas, well dressed, are among the 
most delicious delicacies of the vegetable kingdom. 
They must be young. It is equally indispensable 
that they be fresh gathered, and cooked as soon 
as they are shelled, for they soon lose both their 
color and sweetness. After being shelled, wash 
them, drain them in a cullender, put them on, in 
plenty of boiling water, with a teaspoonful of salt ; 
boil them till they become tender, which, if young, 
will be less than half an hour ; if old, they will 
require more than an hour. Drain them in a cul- 
lender, and put them into a dish, with a slice of 
fresh butter in it. Some people think it an im- 
provement to boil a small bunch of mint with the 
peas ; it is then minced finely, and laid in small 
heaps at the end or sides of the dish. If peas are 
allowed to stand in the water, after being boiled, 
they lose their color. 



VEGETABLES. 



79 



RICE. 

Every week dispense 
English beans or Carolinian rice. 

Grainger. 

Wash the rice perfectly clean ; put on one pound 
m two quarts of cold water; let it boil twenty mi- 
nutes ; strain it through a sieve, and put it before 
the fire ; shake it up with a fork every now and 
then, to separate the grains, and make it quite dry. 
Serve it hot. 

TURNIPS. 

On turnips feast whene'er you please, 
And riot in my beans and peas. 

Gay. 

Wash, peel, and boil them till tender, in water 
with a little salt ; serve them with melted butter. 
Or they may be stewed in a pint of milk, thickened 
with a bit of butter rolled in flour, and seasoned 
w T ith salt and pepper, and served with the sauce. 

SPINACH. 

Much meat doth Gluttony procure, 

To feed men fat as swine; 
But he's a frugal man, indeed, 

That on the leaf can dine. 

Pick it very carefully, and wash it thoroughly 



80 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



two or three times ; then put it on in boiling water 
with a little salt ; let it boil nearly twenty minutes. 
Put it into a cullender ; hold it under the water- 
cock, and let the water run on it for a minute. Put 
it into a saucepan ; beat it perfectly smooth with a 
wooden spoon ; add a bit of butter, and three table- 
spoonfuls of cream. Mix it well together, and 
make it hot before serving. 

ASPARAGUS. 

At early morn, I to the market haste, 
(Studious in everything to please thy taste); 
A curious fowl and 'sparagus I chose, 
(For I remembered you were fond of those). 

Gay. 

Boil asparagus in salt and water till it is tender 
at the stalk, which will be in twenty or thirty mi- 
nutes. Great care must be taken to watch the 
exact time of its becoming tender. Toast some 
bread ; dip it lightly in the liquor the asparagus 
was boiled in, and lay it in the middle of the dish ; 
melt some butter; lay the asparagus upon the 
toast, which must project beyond the asparagus, 
that the company may see that there is toast. 



VEGETABLES. 



81 



CARROTS. 



And when his juicy salads fail'd, 
Slic'cl carrots pleased him well. 

Cowper. 

Let them be well washed and brushed, not 
scraped. If young spring carrots, an hour is 
enough. When done, rub off the peels with a 
clean coarse cloth, and slice them in two or four, 
according to their size. The best way to try if 
they are boiled enough, is to pierce them with a 
fork. 

LEEKS. 

With carrots red. and turnips white, 
And leeks j Cadwallader's delight, 
And all the savory crop that vie 
To please the palate and the eye. 

GllAINGER. 

Leeks are most generally used for soups, ragouts, 
and other made dishes. They are very rarely 
brought to table ; in which case dress them as fol- 
lows. Put them in the stock pot till about three 
parts done ; then take them out, drain and soak 
them in vinegar seasoned with pepper, salt, and 
cloves ; drain them again, stuff their hearts with 
a farce, dip them in butter, and fry them. 



82 



TO DRY HERBS. 

Herbs too she knew, and well of each could speak 

That in her garden sipp'd the silvery dew, 
Where no vain flower disclosed a gaudy streak, 

But herbs, for use and physic, not a few 
Of gray renown, within those borders grew, — 

The tufted basil, pun-provoking thyme. 
Fresh balm, and marigold of cheerful hue, 

The lowly gill, that never dares to climb, 
And more I fain would sing, disdaining here to rhyme. 

Shexstoxe. 

It is very important to know when the various 
seasons commence for picking sweet and savory 
herbs for drying. Care should be taken that they 
are gathered on a dry day, by which means they 
will have a better color when dried. Cleanse them 
well from dirt and dust, cut off the roots, separate 
the bunches into smaller ones, and dry them by 
the heat of the stove, or in a Dutch oven before a 
common fire, in such quantities at a time, that the 
process may be speedily finished, L e. u Kill 'em 
quick," says a great botanist ; by this means their 
flavor will be best preserved. There can be no doubt 
of the propriety of drying, &c, hastily by the aid 



HERBS. 



83 



of artificial heat, rather than by the heat of the 
sun. In the application of artificial heat, the only 
caution requisite is to avoid burning ; and of this 
a sufficient test is afforded by the preservation of 
the color. The best method to preserve the flavor 
of aromatic plants is to pick off the leaves as soon 
as they are dried, and to pound them, and put 
them through a hair sieve, and keep them in well- 
stopped bottles labelled. 



84 



PICKLES. 

MANGOES. 

What lord of old would bid his cook prepare 
Mangoes, potargo, champignons, caviare ! 

King. 

There is a particular sort of melon for this pur- 
pose. Cut a square small piece out of one side, 
and through that take out the seeds, mix with 
them mustard seeds and shred garlic, stuff the melon 
as full as the space will allow, and replace the 
square piece. Bind it up with small new pack- 
thread. Boil a good quantity of vinegar, to allow 
for wasting, with peppers, salt, ginger, and pour it 
boiling over the mangoes, four successive days ; the 
last day put flour of mustard and scraped horse- 
radish into the vinegar just as it boils up. Observe 
that there is plenty of vinegar. All pickles are 
spoiled, if not well covered. 



PICKLES. 



85 



PICKLED CABBAGE. 

Lives in a cell, and eats from week to week 
A meal of pickled cabbage and ox cheek. 

Cawthorne. 

Choose two middling-sized, well-colored and firm 
red cabbages, shred them very finely, first pulling 
off the outside leaves ; mix with them nearly half a 
pound of salt; tie it up in a thin cloth, and let it 
hang for twelve hours ; then put it into small jars, 
and pour over it cold vinegar that has been boiled 
with a few barberries in it. Boil in a quart of 
vinegar, three bits of ginger, half an ounce of 
pepper, and a quarter of an ounce of cloves. When 
cold, pour it over the red cabbage. Tie the jar 
closely with bladder. 



8 



86 



SWEETMEATS, 



TO CLARIFY SUGAR. 

'Mongst salts essential, sugar wins the palm. 
For taste, for color, and for various use. 
O'er all thy works let cleanliness preside, 
Child of frugality ; and as the scum 
Thick mantles o'er the boiling wave, do thou 
The scum that mantles carefully remove. 

Grainger. 

Whereof little 
More than a little is by much too much. 

Shakspeare. 



To every three pounds of loaf sugar, allow the 
beaten white of an egg and a pint and a half of 
water ; break the sugar small, put it into a nicely 
cleaned brass pan, pour the water over it ; let it 
stand some time before it be put upon the fire, then 
add the beaten white of the egg ; stir it till the 
sugar be entirely dissolved ; when it boils up, pour 
in a quarter of a pint of cold water, let it boil up 
a second time, take it off the fire, let it settle for 
fifteen minutes, carefully take off all the scum, let 
it boil again till sufficiently thick ; in order to as- 



SWEETMEATS. 



87 



certain which, drop a little from a spoon into a jar 
of cold water, and if it become quite hard, it is suffi- 
ciently done, and the fruit to be preserved must 
instantly be put in and boiled. 

CURRANT JELLY. 

He snuffs far off the anticipated joy, 
Jelly and ven'son all his thoughts employ. 

Cowper. 

Currant, grape, and raspberry jelly are all made 
precisely in the same manner. When the fruit is 
full ripe, gather it on a dry day. As soon as it is 
nicely picked, put it into a jar, and cover it down 
very close. Set the jar in a saucepan, about three 
parts filled with cold water ; put it on a gentle fire, 
and let it simmer for about half an hour. Take 
the pan from the fire, and pour the contents of the 
jar into a jelly-bag, pass the juice through a second 
time ; do not squeeze the bag. To each pint of 
juice, add a pound and a half of very good lump 
sugar pounded, when it is put into a preserving 
pan ; set it on the fire, and boil it gently, stirring 
and skimming it the whole time (about thirty or 
forty minutes), i. e. till no more scum rises, and it 
is perfectly clear and fine ; pour it warm into pots, 
and when cold, cover them with paper w T etted in 
brandy. 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



Half a pint of this jelly dissolved in a pint of 
brandy or vinegar will give you an excellent cur- 
rant or raspberry brandy or vinegar. 

Obs. Jellies from the fruits are made in the 
same way, and cannot be preserved in perfection 
without plenty of good sugar. The best way is 
the cheapest. 

APPLE JELLY. 

The board was spread with fruits and wine ; 
With grapes of gold, like those that shine 

On Caslin's hills; pomegranates, full 
Of melting sweetness, and the pears 

And sunniest apples that Cabul 
In all its thousand gardens bears. 

Moore. 

Pare and mince three dozen juicy, acid apples ; 
put them into a pan ; cover them with water, and 
boil them till very soft ; strain them through a 
thin cloth or flannel bag ; allow a pound of loaf 
sugar to a pint of juice, with the grated peel and 
juice of six lemons. Boil it for twenty minutes ; 
take off the scum as it rises. 



SWEETMEATS. 



89 



CHERRY JELLY. 

With rich conserve of Visna cherries, 
Of orange flower, and of those berries 
That . 

Moore. 

Take the stones and stalks from two pounds of 
clear, fine, ripe cherries ; mix them with a quarter 
of a pound of red currants, from which the seeds 
have been extracted ; express the juice from 
these fruits ; filter, and mix it with three quarters 
of a pound of clarified sugar, and one ounce of 
isinglass. Replace the vessel on the fire with the 
juice, and add to it a pound and a half of sugar, 
boiled d conserve. Boil together a few times, and 
then pour the conserve into cases. 

CALVES' FEET JELLY. 

Nature hates vacuums, as you know, 
We, therefore, will descend below, 
And fill, with dainties nice and light, 
The vacuum in your appetite. 
Besides, good wine and dainty fare 
Are sometimes known to lighten care ; 
Nay, man is often brisk or dull, 
As the keen stomach's void or full. 

To four feet add four quarts of water ; let them 
boil on a slow fire till the flesh is parted from the 

8* 



90 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



bones, and the quantity reduced to half; strain it 
carefully, and the next morning remove the feet 
and sediment. Add the rind of two lemons, the 
juice of five lemons, one and a half pounds of white 
sugar, a stick of cinnamon, a little nutmeg, a pint 
of sherry wine, half a teacupful of brandy ; beat 
the white of ten eggs to a froth, and put them into 
the pan with their shells ; let it boil ten minutes, 
when throw in a teacupful of cold water. Strain it 
through a flannel bag, first dipped into boiling 
water. 

PIXEAPPLE PRESERVE. 

And the sun's child, the maiVd anana, yields 
His regal apple to the ravish'd taste. 

Graixger. 

Pare your pineapple ; cut it in small pieces, and 
leave out the core. Mix the pineapple with half 
a pound of powdered white sugar, and set it away 
in a covered dish till sufficient juice is drawn out to 
stew the fruit in. 

Stew the pineapple in the sugar and juice till 
quite soft, then mash it to a marmalade with the 
back of a spoon, and set it away to cool ; pour it in 
tumblers, cover them with paper, gum-arabicked on. 



91 



EGGS. 

OMELET. 

Though many, I own, are the evils they've brought us, 
Though R**al*y's here on her very last legs ; 

Yet who can help loving the land that has taught us 
Six hundred and eighty -five ways to dress eggs! 

Moore. 

Take as many eggs as you think proper ; break 
them into a pan, with some salt and chopped 
parsley ; beat them well, and season them accord- 
ing to taste. Have ready some onion, chopped 
small ; put some butter into a fryingpan, and when 
it is hot, put in your chopped onion, giving them 
two or three turns ; then add your eggs to it, and 
fry the whole of a nice brown. You must only fry 
one side ; serve the fried side uppermost. 

TO POACH EGGS. 

But, after all, what would you have me do, 
When, out of twenty, I can please not two? 
One likes the pheasant's wing, and one the leg ; 
The vulgar boil, the learned poach an egg; 
Hard task to hit the palate of such guests, 
When Oldfield loves what Dartineuf detests. 

Pope. 

The cook who wishes to display her skill in 



92 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



poaching, must endeavor to procure eggs that have 
been laid a couple of days ; those that are new 
laid are so milky, that, take all the care you can, 
your cooking of them will seldom procure you the 
praise of being a prime poacher. You must have 
fresh eggs, or it is equally impossible. The beauty 
of a poached egg is for the yolk to be seen blush- 
ing through the white, which should only be just 
sufficiently hardened to form a transparent veil for 
the egg. Have some boiling water in a teakettle ; 
pass as much of it through a clean cloth as will half 
fill a stewpan; break the egg into a cup, and when 
the water boils remove the stewpan from the stove, 
and gently slip the egg into it ; it must stand till 
the white is set ; then put it on a very moderate 
fire, and as soon as the water boils, the egg is ready. 
Take it up with a slicer, and neatly place it on a 
piece of toast. 

BOILED EGGS. 

On holydays, an egg or two at most; 
But her ambition never reached to roast. 

Chaucer. 

The fresher laid the better. Put them into boil- 
ing water; if you like the white just set, about two 
minutes' boiling is enough. A new-laid egg will 
take a little more. If you wish the yolk to be set, 
it will take three, and to boil it hard for a salad, 



EGGS. 



93 



ten minutes. A new-laid egg will require longer 
boiling than a stale one by half a minute. 

FRIED EGGS. 

Go work, hunt, exercise (he thus begun), 
Then scorn a homely dinner if yon can ; 
Fried eggs, and herbs, and olives, still we see : 
This much is left of old simplicity. 

Pope. 

Eggs boiled hard, cut into slices, and fried, may 
be served as a second course dish, to eat with roast 
chicken. 

EGGS AND BREAD. 

Never go to France, 

Unless you know the lingo ; 
If you do, like me, 

You'll repent, by jingo. 
Starving like a fool, 

And silent as a mummy, 
There I stood alone, 

A nation with a dummy. 

Signs I had to make 

For every little notion ; 
Limbs all going like 

A telegraph in motion ; 
If I wanted bread. 

My jaws I set a-going, 
And asked for new laid eggs 

By clapping hands and crowing. 

Put half a handful of breadcrumbs into a sauce- 



94 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



pan, with a small quantity of cream, sugar, and 
nutmeg, and let it stand till the bread has imbibed 
all the cream; then break ten eggs into it, and 
having beaten them up together, fry it like an 
omelet. 

OMELETTE SOUFFLE. 

" Where is my favorite dish ?" he cried ; 
" Let some one place it by my side !" 

Donxe. 

Beat up the yolks of eight eggs, and the whites 
of four (set aside the remaining whites), with a 
spoonful of water, some salt, sugar, and the juice 
of a lemon; fry this, and then put it on a dish. 
Whip the four whites which were set aside to a 
froth with sugar, and place it over the fried eggs ; 
bake it for a few minutes. 



95 



DESSERTS. 

PUFF PASTE. 

The puffs made me light, 
And now that's all over, I'm pretty well, thank you. 

Moore. 

Weigh an equal quantity of flour and butter, 
rub rather more than half the flour into one-third 
of the butter ; add as much cold water as will make 
it into a stiff paste ; work it until the butter be com- 
pletely mixed with the flour, make it round, beat 
it with the rolling-pin, clust it, as also the rolling- 
pin w r ith flour, and roll it out towards the opposite 
side of the slab, or paste-board, making it of an 
equal thickness, then with the point of a knife, put 
little bits of butter all over it, dust flour over it 
and under it, fold in all the sides, and roll it up, 
dust it again with flour, beat it a little, and roll 
out, alw T ays rubbing the rolling-pin with flour, and 
throwing some underneath the paste to prevent its 
sticking to the board. 

It should be touched as little as possible with the 
hands. 



96 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



PYRAMID PASTE. 

You that from pliant paste would fabrics raise, 
Expecting thence to gain immortal praise, 
Your knuckles try, and let your sinews know 
Their power to knead, and give the form to dough ; 
From thence of course the figure will arise, 
And elegance adorn the surface of your pies. 

King. 

Make a rich puff paste, roll it out a quarter of 
an inch thick, cut it into five or seven pieces with 
scalloped tin cutters, which go one within another ; 
leave the bottom and top piece entire, and cut a 
bit out of the centre of the others. Place them 
upon buttered baking tins, and bake them of a 
light brown. Build them into a pyramid, laying a 
different preserved fruit upon each piece of paste, 
and on the top a whole apricot with a sprig of 
myrtle stuck in it. 

FRUIT PIES. 

Unless some sweetness at the bottom lie, 
Who cares for all the crinkling of the pie! 

King. 

Fruit pies for family use are generally made with 
common paste. Allow three quarters of a pound of 



DESSERTS. 



97 



butter to a pound and a half of flour. Peaches and 
plums for pies should be cut in half, and the stones 
taken out. Cherries also should be stoned, and 
red cherries only should be used for pies. Apples 
should be cut into very thin slices, and are much 
improved by a little lemon-peel. Apples stewed 
previous to baking, should not be done till they 
break, but only till they are tender. They should 
then be drained in a cullender, and chopped fine 
with a knife or edge of a spoon. In making pies 
of juicy fruit, it is a good way to set a small tea- 
cup on the bottom crust, and lay the fruit round it. 
The juice will collect under the cup, and not run 
out at the edges or top of the pie. The fruit should 
be mixed with a sufficient quantity of sugar, and 
piled up in the middle, so as to make the pie highest 
in the centre. 

The upper crust should be pricked w r ith a fork. 
The edges should be nicely crimped with a knife. 
If stewed fruit is put in w r arm, it will make the 
paste heavy. If your pies are made in the form 
of shells, the fruit should always be stewed first, 
or it will not he sufficiently done, as the shells 
(which should be made of puff paste) must not 
bake so long as covered pies. 

Fruit pies with lids should have loaf sugar grated 
over them. 

9 



98 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



MINCE PIES. 

When Terence spoke, oraculous and sly, 
He'd neither grant the question nor deny, 
Pleading for tarts, his thoughts were on mince pie. 

My poor endeavors view with gracious eye, 
To make these lines above a Christmas pie. 

Two pounds of boiled beef's heart or fresh 
tongue, or lean fresh beef chopped, when cold ; 
two pounds of beef suet chopped fine, four pounds 
of pippin apples chopped, two pounds of raisins 
stoned and chopped, two pounds of currants picked, 
washed, and dried, two pounds of powdered sugar, 
one quart of white wine, one quart of brandy, one 
wine-glass of rose-water, two grated nutmegs, half 
an ounce of cinnamon, powdered, a quarter of an 
ounce of mace, powdered, a teaspoonful of salt, two 
large oranges, and half a pound of citron cut in 
slips. Pack it closely into stone jars, and tie them 
over with paper. When it is to be used, add a 
little more wine. 



DESSERTS. 



99 



PLUM PUDDING. 

All you who to feasting and mirth are inclined, 

Come, here is good news for to pleasure your mind. 

Old Christmas is come, for to keep open house : 

He scorns to be guilty of starving a mouse. 

Then come, boys, and welcome, for diet the chief, — 

Plum pudding, goose, capon, miuced pies, and roast beef. 

The cooks shall be busied, by day and by night, 

In roasting and boiling, for taste and delight. 

Provision is making for beer, ale, and wine, 

For all that are willing or ready to dine. 

Meantime goes the caterer to fetch in the chief, — 

Plum pudding, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef. 

Ancient Christmas Carol. 

One quarter of a pound of beef suet ; take out 
the strings and skin ; chop it to appear like butter ; 
stone one pound of raisins, one pound of currants, 
well washed, dried, and floured, one pound loaf 
sugar, rolled and sifted, one pound of flour, eight 
eggs well beaten ; beat all w T ell together for some 
time, then add by degrees two glasses of brandy, 
one wine, one rose-water, citron, nutmeg, and cin- 
namon ; beat it all extremely well together, tie it 
in a floured cloth very tight, let it boil four hours 
constantly ; let your sauce be a quarter pound of 
butter, beat to a cream, a quarter pound loaf 
sugar pounded and sifted ; beat in the butter with 
a little wine and sugar and nutmeg. 



100 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



COCOANUT PUDDING. 

Whatever was the best pie going, 

In thai Ned — trust him—had his finger. 

Moore. 

Take the thin brown skin off of a quarter pound 
of cocoa, wash it in cold water, and wipe it dry ; 
grate it fine, stir three and half ounces of butter 
and a quarter pound of powdered sugar, to a cream ; 
add half teaspoonful of rose-water, half glass of wine 
and of brandy mixed, to them. Beat the white of six 
eggs till they stand alone, and then stir them into 
the butter and sugar ; afterwards sprinkle in the 
grated nut, and stir hard all the time. Put puff 
paste into the bottom of the dish, pour in the mix- 
ture, and bake it in a moderate oven, half an hour. 
Grate loaf sugar over it when cold. 

APPLE PUDDING. 

Where London's column, pointing to the skies, 

Like a tall bully, lifts the head and lies, 

There dwelt a citi zen of sober fame, 

A plain, good man, and Balaam was his name j 

Religious, punctual, frugal, and so forth, 

His word would pass for more than he was worth ; 

One solid dish his week-day meal affords, 

And apple pudding solemnized the Lord's. 

Pope. 



Make a batter of two eggs, a pint of milk and 



DESSERTS. 



101 



three or four spoonfuls of flour ; pour it into a deep 
dish, and having pared six or eight apples, place 
them whole in the batter, and bake them. 

HASTY PUDDING. 

But man, more fickle, the bold license claims, 
In different realms, to give thee different names. 
Thee, the soft nations round the warm Levant 
Polanta call ; the French, of course, Polante. 
E'en in thy native regions, how I blush 
To hear the Pennsylvanians call thee mush! 
All spurious appellations, void of truth ; 
I've better known thee from my earliest youth : 
Thy name is Hasty Pudding! Thus our sires 
Were wont to greet thee from the fuming fires ; 
And while they argued in thy just defence, 
With logic clear, they thus explained the sense : 
"In haste the boiling caldron, o'er the blaze, 
Receives and cooks the ready-powdered maize ; 
In haste 'tis served, and then in equal haste. 
With cooling milk, we make the sweet repast. 
No carving to be done, no knife to grate 
The tender ear, and wound the stony plate ; 
But the smooth spoon, just fitted to the lip, 
And taught with art the yielding mass to dip, 
By frequent journeys to the bowl well stored, 
Performs the hasty honors of the board." 

9* 



102 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



Such is thy name, significant and clear,— 
A name, a sound, to every Yankee dear ; 
But most to me, whose heart and palate chaste 
Preserve my pure, hereditary taste. 

Barlow. 

YORKSHIRE PUDDING. 

The strong table groans 
Beneath the smoking sirloin, stretch'd immense 
From side to side j in which with desperate knife 
They deep incisions make, and talk the while 
Of England's glory, ne'er to be defaced 
While hence they borrow vigor; or amain 
Into the pudding plunged at intervals, 
If stomach keen can intervals allow, 
Relating all the glories of the chase. 

Thomson. 

This pudding is especially an excellent accom- 
paniment to a sirloin of beef. Six tablespoonfuls 
of flour, three eggs, a teaspoonful of salt, and a 
pint of milk, make a middling stiff batter ; beat it 
up well ; take care it is not lumpy. Put a dish 
under the meat ; let the drippings drop into it, till 
it is quite hot and well greased ; then pour in the 
batter. When the upper surface is browned and set, 
turn it, that both sides may be brown alike. A 
pudding an inch thick will take two hours. Serve 
it under the roast beef, that the juice of the beef 
may enter it. It is very fine. 



DESSERTS. 



103 



SUET PUDDING. 

Sir Balaam now, he lives like other folks ; 
He takes his chirping, and cracks his jokes. 
Live like yourself, was soon my lady's word ; 
And lo ! suet pudding was seen upon the board. 

Pope. 

Suet, a quarter of a pound ; flour, three table- 
spoonfuls ; eggs two, and a little grated ginger ; 
milk, half a pint. Mince the suet as fine as pos- 
sible ; roll it with the rolling-pin, so as to mix it 
well with the flour ; beat up the eggs, mix them 
with the milk, and then mix them all together ; 
wet your cloth well in boiling water, and boil it an 
hour and a quarter. Mrs. Glasse has it : " When 
you have made your water boil, then put your pud- 
ding into your pot.'' 

OATMEAL PUDDING. 

Of oats decorticated take two pounds, 
And of new milk enough the same to drown ; 
Of raisins of the sun, stoned, ounces eight ; 
Of currants, cleanly picked, an equal weight ; 
Of suet, finely sliced, an ounce at least ; 
And six eggs, newly taken from the nest : 
Season this mixture well w T ith salt and spice ; 
'Twill make a pudding far exceeding rice ; 
And you may safely feed on it like farmers, 
For the recipe is learned Dr. Harmcr's. 



104 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



EVE'S PUDDING. 

If you want a good pudding, mind what you are 
taught : 

Take eggs, six in number, when bought for a groat ; 
The fruit with which Eve her husband did cozen, 
Well pared and well chopped, take at least half a 
dozen ; 

Six ounces of bread — let the cook eat the crust — 
And crumble the soft as fine as the dust ; 
Six ounces of currants from the stalks you must sort, 
Lest they husk out your teeth, and spoil all the sport; 
Six ounces of sugar won't make it too sweet, 
And some salt and some nutmeg will make it com- 
plete. 

Three hours let it boil, without any flutter, 

And Adam won't like it without sugar and butter. 

Anonymous. 



CHARLOTTE DES POMMES. 

Charlotte, from rennet apples first did frame 

A pie, which still retains her name. 

Though common grown, yet with white sugar stewed, 

And butter d right, its goodness is allowed. 

King. 



Pare, core, and mince fifteen French rennet 
apples: put them into a frying-pan with some 



DESSERTS. 



105 



powdered loaf sugar, a little pounded cinnamon, 
grated lemon-peel, and two ounces and a half of 
fresh butter ; fry them a quarter of an hour over 
a quick fire, stirring them constantly. Butter the 
shape the size the Charlotte is intended to be; cut 
strips of bread long enough to reach from the bot- 
tom to the rim of the shape, so that the whole be 
lined with bread; dip each bit into melted butter, 
and put a layer of fried apples, and one of apricot 
jam or marmalade, and then one of bread dipped 
into butter ; begin and finish with it. Bake it in 
an oven for an hour. Turn it out to serve. 



BATTER PUDDING. 



A frugal man, upon the whole, 
Yet loved his friend, and had a soul ; 
Knew what was handsome, and would do't 
On just occasion, co&te qui coute. 
He brought him bacon (nothing lean) ; 
Pudding, that might have pleased a dean ; 
Cheese, such as men of Suffolk make, 
But wished it Stilton for his sake. 

Pope. 



Take six ounces of flour, a little salt, and three 
eggs ; beat it well with a little milk, added by 
degrees, till the batter becomes smooth ; make it 
the thickness of cream ; put it into a buttered and 



106 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



floured bag ; tie it tightly ; boil one and a half 
hour, or two hours. Serve with wine sauce. 

APPLE DUMPLINGS. 

By the rivulet, on the rushes, 
Beneath a canopy of bushes, 
Colin Blount and Yorkshire Tray 
Taste the dumplings and the whey. 

Smart. 

Pare and scoop out the core of six large baking 
apples ; put part of a clove and a little grated 
lemon-peel inside of each, and enclose them in 
pieces of puff paste ; boil them in nets for the pur- 
pose, or bits of linen, for an hour. Before serving, 
cut off a small bit from the top of each, and put 
a teaspoonful of sugar and a bit of fresh butter ; 
replace the bit of paste, and strew over them 
pounded loaf sugar. 

SWEETMEAT FRITTERS. 

If chronicles may be believed, 

So loved the pamper'd gallant lived, 

That with the nuns he always dined 

On rarities of every kind ; 

Then hoards, occasionally varied, 

Of biscuits, sweetmeats , nuts, and fruits. 



Cut small any sort of candied fruit, and heat it 



DESSERTS. 107 

with a bit of fresh butter, some good milk, and a 
little grated lemon-peel ; when quite hot, stir in 
enough of flour to make it into a stiff paste ; take 
it off the fire, and work in eight or ten eggs, two 
at a time. When cold, form the fritters, fry, and 
serve them with pounded loaf sugar strewed over 
them. 

FRITTERS. 

Methinks I scent some rich repast : 
The savor strengthens with the blast. 

Gay. 

Take a dozen apricots, or any other fruit pre- 
served in brandy ; drain them in half ; then wrap 
them in wafers, cut round, and previously mois- 
tened. Make the batter by putting a glass and a 
half of water, a grain of salt, and two ounces of 
fresh butter, into a saucepan. When it boils, stir 
in sufficient quantity of flour to make it rather a 
firm batter ; keep it stirring three minutes ; then 
pour it into another vessel ; dip the fruit in this 
batter, and fry them; sprinkle them with sugar, 
then serve. 



108 



CREAMS. 

ICE CREAM. 

After dreaming some hours of the land of Cocaigne, 
That Elysium of all that is friand and nice, 

Where for hail they have bonbons, and claret for rain, 
And the skaters in winter show off on cream ice. 

Moore. 

Here ice, like crystal firm, and never lost, 
Tempers hot July with December's frost. 

Waller. 

Put a quart of rich cream into a broad pan ; 
then stir in half a pound of powdered loaf sugar 
by degrees, and when all is well mixed, strain it 
through a sieve. Put it into a tin that has a close 
cover, and set it in a tub. Fill the tub with ice 
broken into small pieces, and strew among the ice a 
large quantity of salt, taking care that none of the 
salt gets into the cream. Scrape the cream down 
with a spoon as it freezes round the edges of the 
tin. While the cream is freezing, stir in gradually 
the juice of two large lemons or the juice of a pint 
of mashed strawberries or raspberries. When it is 
all frozen, dip the tin in lukewarm water ; take 
out the cream, and fill your glasses, but not till a 
few minutes before you want to use it, as it will 
melt very soon. 



CREAMS. 



109 



If you wish to have it in moulds, put the cream 
into them as soon as it is frozen in the tin. 

Set the moulds in a tub of ice and salt. Just 
before you want to use the cream, take the moulds 
out of the tub, wipe or wash the salt carefully from 
the outside, dip the moulds into lukewarm water, 
and turn out the cream. You may flavor a quart 
of ice cream with two ounces of sweet almonds, and 
one ounce of bitter almonds, blanched, and beaten 
in a mortar with a little rose-water to a smooth 
paste. 

Stir in the almond gradually, while the cream is 
freezing. 

WHIPPED CREAM. 

Pudding our parson eats, the squire loves hare, 
But whipped cream is my Buxoma's fare, 
While she loves whipped cream, capon ne'er shall be, 
Nor hare, nor beef, nor pudding, food for me. 

Gay. 

Sweeten with pounded loaf sugar a quart of 
cream, and to it a lump of sugar which has been 
rubbed upon the peel of two fine lemons or little 
oranges ; or flavor it with orange flower water, a 
little essence of roses, the juice of strawberries, or 
any other fruit. Whisk the cream well in a large 
pan, and as the froth rises, take it off*, and lay it 

10 



110 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



on a sieve placed over another pan, and return the 
cream which drains from the froth till all is whisk- 
ed ; then heap it upon a dish, or put it into glasses. 

BOILED CUSTARDS. 

And boiled custard, take its merit in brief, 

Makes a noble dessert, where the dinner's roast beef. 

Boil a pint of milk with lemon-peel and cinna- 
mon ; mix a pint of cream, and the yolks of five 
eggs well beaten ; when the milk tastes of the sea- 
soning, sweeten enough for the whole ; pour it into 
the cream, stirring it well ; then give the custard 
a simmer till of a proper thickness. Do not let it 
boil ; stir the whole time one way ; then season 
with a large spoonful of peach-water, and two tea- 
spoonfuls of brandy or a little ratafia. If you 
wish your custards extremely rich, put no milk, but 
a quart of cream. 

ORANGE CUSTARDS. 

With orange custards and the juicy pine, 

On choicest melons and sweet grapes they dine. 

JONSON. 

Sweeten the strained juice of ten oranges with 
pounded loaf sugar, stir it over the fire till hot, take 
off the scum, and when nearly cold, add to it the 
beaten yolks of twelve eggs and a pint of cream ; 



CREAMS. 



Ill 



put it into a saucepan, and stir it over a slow fire 
till it thickens. Serve it in cups. 

CUSTARDS OR CREAMS. 

But nicer cates, her dainty's boasted fare, 
The jellied cream or custards, daintiest food, 
Or cheesecake, or the cooling syllabub, 
For Thyrses she prepares. 

DODSLEY. 

Whisk for one hour the whites of two eggs, 
together with two tablespoonfuls of raspberry or 
red currant syrup or jelly ; lay it in any form of a 
custard or cream, piled up to imitate rock. It may 
be served in a cream round it. 

ALMOND CREAMS. 

And from sweet kernels pressed, 
She tempers dulcet creams. 

Milton. 

Blanch and pound to a paste, with rose-water, 
six ounces of almonds ; mix them with a pint and 
a half of cream which has been boiled with the peel 
of a small lemon ; add two well-beaten eggs, and 
stir the whole over the fire till it be thick, taking 
care not to allow it to boil ; sweeten it, and when 
nearly cold, stir in a tablespoonful of orange-flower 
or rose-water. 



112 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



YEAST. 



Not with the leaven, as of old, 

Of sin and malice fed, 

But with unfeigned sincerity. 

One dozen of potatoes, two cupfuls of hops ; put 
them together in a bag, and place them in a pot 
with two quarts of water ; let it boil till the pota- 
toes are done ; a cupful of salt, a ladle of flour ; 
then pour the boiling water over it, then let it 
stand till lukewarm ; add a cupful of old yeast, 
cover it up, and put near the fire till it foments. 



BREAD. 



His diet was of wheaten bread. 

Cow PER. 

Mixt with the rustic throng, see ruddy maids, 
Some taught with dextrous hand to twirl the wheel, 

Some expert 
To raise from leavened wheat the kneaded loaf. 

Dodsley. 



BREAD. 



113 



Her bread is deemed such dainty fare, 

That ev'ry prudent traveller 

His wallet loads with many a crust. 

Cowper. 

Like the loaf in the Tub's pleasant tale, 
That was fish, flesh, and custard, good claret and ale, 
It comprised every flavor, was all and was each, 
Was grape and was pineapple, nectarine and peach. 

Loviloxd. 

Mix with six pounds of sifted flour one ounce of 
salt, nearly half a pint of fresh sweet yeast as it 
comes from the brewery, and a sufficient quantity 
of warmed milk to make the whole into a stiff 
dough, work and knead it well on a board, on 
which a little flour has been strewed, for fifteen or 
twenty minutes, then put it into a deep pan, cover 
it with a warmed towel, set it before the fire, and 
let it rise for an hour and a half or perhaps two 
hours ; cut off a piece of this sponge or dough ; 
knead it well for eight or ten minutes, together 
with flour sufficient to keep it from adhering to 
the board, put it into small tins, filling them three 
quarters full ; dent the rolls all around with a 
knife, and let them stand a few minutes before 
putting them in the oven. 

The remainder of the dough must then be worked 
up for loaves, and baked either in or out of shape. 

10* 



114 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



RYE AND INDIAN BREAD. 

Of wine she never tasted through the year, 

But white and black was all her homely cheer, 

Brown bread and milk (but first she skimmed her bowls), 

And rasher of singed bacon on the coals. 

Chaucer. 

Sift two quarts of rye, and two quarts of Indian 
meal, and mix them well together. Boil three 
pints of milk ; pour it boiling upon the meal ; add 
two teaspoonfuls of salt, and stir the whole very 
hard. Let it stand till it becomes of only a luke- 
warm heat, and then stir in half a pint of good, 
fresh yeast ; if from the brewery and quite fresh, 
a smaller quantity will suffice. Knead the mix- 
ture into a stiff dough, and set it to rise in a pan. 
Cover it with a thick cloth that has been previously 
warmed, and set it near the fire. When it is quite 
light, and has cracked all over the top, make it 
into tw T o loaves ; put them into a moderate oven, and 
bake them two hours and a half. 



BUTTER. 115 



BUTTER. 

Vessels large 
And broad, by the sweet hand of neatness clean'd, 
Meanwhile, in decent order ranged appear, 
The milky treasure, strain' d thro' filtering lawn, 
Intended to receive. At early day, 
Sweet slumber shaken from her opening lids, 
My lovely Patty to her dairy hies ; 
There, from the surface of expanded bowls 
She skims the floating cream, and to her churn 
Commits the rich consistence; nor disdains, 
Though soft her hand, though delicate her frame, 
To urge the rural toil, fond to obtain 
The country housewife's humble name and praise. 
Continued agitation separates soon 
The unctuous particles; with gentler strokes 
And artful, soon they coalesce ; at length 
Cool water pouring from the limpid spring 
Into a smooth glazed vessel, deep and wide, 
She gathers the loose fragments to a heap, 
Which in the cleansing wave, well wrought and 
press'd, 

To one consistent golden mass, receives 

The sprinkled seasoning, and of pats or pounds 

The fair impression, the neat shape assumes. 

Dodsley. 



116 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



COTTAGE CHEESE. 

Warm from the cow she pours 
The milky flood. Au acid juice infused, 
From the dried stomach drawn of suckling calf, 
Coagulates the whole. Immediate now 
Her spreading hands bear down the gathering curd ; . 
Which hard and harder grows, till, clear and thin, 
The green whey rises separate. 

Dodsley. 

Warm three half pints of cream with one half 
pint of milk, and put a little rennet to it ; keep it 
covered in a warm place till it is curdled ; have a 
proper mould with holes, either of china or any 
other; put the curds into it to drain, about one 
hour or less. Serve it with a good plain cream, 
and pounded sugar over it. 



117 



CAKES. 

BUCKWHEAT CAKES. 

Do, dear James, mix up the cakes : 
Just one quart of meal it takes; 
Pour the water on the pot, 
Be careful it is not too hot ; 
Sift the meal well through your hand, 
Thicken well — don't let it stand; 
Stir it quick, — clash, clatter, clatter ! 
0 what light, delicious batter ! 
Now listen to the next command: 
On the dresser let it stand 
Just three quarters of an hour, 
To feel the gently rising power 
Of powders, melted into yeast, 
To lighten well this precious feast. 
See, now it rises to the brim ! 
Quick, take the ladle, dip it in ; 
So let it rest, until the fire 
The griddle heats as you desire. 
Be careful that the coals are glowing, 
No smoke around its white curls throwing ; 
Apply the suet, softly, lightly; 
The griddle's black face shines more 
brightly. 



118 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



Now pour the batter on ; delicious ! 

Don't, dear James, think me officious, 

But lift the tender edges lightly ; 

Now turn it over quickly, sprightly. 

'Tis done ! Now on the white plate lay it : 

Smoking hot, with butter spread, 

'Tis quite enough to turn our head ! 

JOHNNY CAKES. 

Some talk of hoecake, fair Virginia's pride ! 
Rich Johnny cake, this mouth has often tried ; 
Both please me well, their virtues much the same; 
Alike their fabric, as allied their fame. 

Barlow. 

A quart of sifted Indian meal, and a handful of 
wheat flour sifted; mix them; three eggs, well 
beaten ; two tablespoonfuls of fresh brewer's yeast, 
or flour of home made yeast, a teaspoonful of salt, 
and a quart of milk. 

MUFFINS. 

Friend, I am a shrewd observer, and will guess 
What cakes you doat on for your favorite mess. 

Armstrong. 

Take a pint of warm milk, and a quarter pint of 
thick small-beer yeast ; strain them into a pan, and 



CAKES. 



119 



add sufficient flour to make it like a batter ; cover 
it over, and let it stand in a warm place until it 
has risen ; then add a quarter of a pint of warm 
milk, and an ounce of butter rubbed in some flour 
quite fine ; mix them well together ; add sufficient 
flour to make it into a dough ; cover it over. Let 
it stand half an hour ; work it up again ; break it 
into small pieces, roll them up quite round, and 
cover them over for a quarter of an hour, then 
bake them. 

PANCAKES. 

With all her haughty looks, the time I've seen 
When the proud damsel has more humble been ; 
When with nice airs she hoist the pancake round, 
And dropt it, hapless fair! upon the ground. 

Shenstone. 

To three tablespoonfuls of flour add six well- 
beaten eggs, three tablespoonfuls of white wine, 
four ounces of melted butter nearly cold, the same 
quantity of pounded loaf sugar, half a grated nut- 
meg, and a pint of cream. Mix it well, beating the 
batter for some time, and pour it thin over the pan. 



120 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



PLUM-CAKE. 

First in place, 
Plum-cake is seen o'er smaller pastry ware, 
And ice on that. 

Swift. 

Pick two pounds of currants very clean, and 
Trash them, draining them through a cullender. 
"Wipe them in a towel, spread them out in a large 
dish, and set them near the fire or in the hot sun 
to dry, placing the dish in a slanting position. 
Having stoned two pounds of best raisins, cut them 
in half, and when all are done, sprinkle them well 
with sifted flour, to prevent their sinking to the 
bottom of the cake. When the currants are dry, 
sprinkle them also with flour. 

Pound the spice, two tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, 
two nutmegs, powdered ; sift and mix the cinnamon 
and nutmeg together. Mix also a large glass of 
wine and brandy, half a glass of rose-water in a 
tumbler or cup. Cut a pound of citron in slips ; 
sift a pound of flour in a broad dish, sift a pound 
of powdered white sugar into a deep earthen pan, 
and cut a pound of butter into it. Warm it near 
the fire, if the weather is too cold for it to mix 
easily. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream ; beat 



CAKES. 



121 



twelve eggs as light as possible ; stir them into the 
butter and sugar alternately with the flour ; stir 
very hard ; add gradually the spice and liquor. 
Stir the raisins and currants alternately in the 
mixture, taking care that they are well floured. 
Stir the whole as hard as possible, for ten minutes 
after the ingredients are in. 

Cover the bottom and sides of a large tin or 
earthen pan with sheets of white paper well but- 
tered, and put into it some of the mixture. Then 
spread some citron on it, which must not be cut too 
small ; next put a layer of the mixture, and then a 
layer of citron, and so on till all is in, having a 
layer of mixture at the top. 

This cake will require four or five hours baking, 
in proportion to its thickness. 

Ice it next day. 

LAFAYETTE GINGERBREAD. 

Must see Rheims, much famed, 'tis said, 
For making kings and gingerbread. 

Moore. 

Five eggs, half pound of brown sugar, half pound 
fresh butter, a pint of sugarhouse molasses, a pound 
and a half of flour, four tablespoonfuls of ginger, 
two large sticks of cinnamon, three dozen grains of 

11 



122 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



allspice, three dozen of cloves, juice and grated 
peel of two lemons. Stir the butter and sugar to 
a cream ; beat the eggs very well ; pour the mo- 
lasses at once into the butter and sugar. Add the 
ginger and other spice, and stir all well together. 
Put in the eggs and flour alternately, stirring all 
the time. Stir the whole very hard, and put in 
the lemon at the last. When the whole is mixed, 
stir it till very light. Butter an earthen pan, or a 
thick tin or iron one, and put the gingerbread in it. 
Bake it in a moderate oven an hour or more, ac- 
cording to its thickness, or you may bake it in 
small cakes or little tins. 

SHREWSBURY CAKES. 

And here each season do those cakes abide, 
Whose honored names the inventive city own, 
Rendering through Britain's isle Salopia's praises known. 

Shenstone. 

Sift one pound of sugar, some pounded cinna- 
mon and a nutmeg grated, into three pounds of 
flour, the finest sort ; add a little rose-water to 
three eggs well beaten ; mix these with the flour, 
&c. ; then pour into it as much butter melted as 
will make it a good thickness to roll out. 

Stir it well, and roll thin ; cut it into such 
shapes as you like. Bake on tins. 



CAKES. 



123 



HONEY-CAKE. 

In vain the circled loaves attempt to lie 
Concealed in flaskets from my curious eye 5 
In vain the cheeses, offspring of the pail, 
Or honeyed cakes, which gods themselves regale. 

Parnell. 

One pound and a half of dried sifted flour, three 
quarters of a pound of honey, half a pound of finely 
powdered loaf sugar, a quarter of a pound of citron, 
and half an ounce of orange-peel cut small, of pow- 
dered ginger and cinnamon, three quarters of an 
ounce. Melt the sugar with the honey, and mix 
in the other ingredients ; roll out the paste, and 
cut it into small cakes of any form. 

NAPLES BISCUITS. 

Though Fve consulted Holinshed and Stow, 
I find it very difficult to know 
Who, to refresh the attendants to a grave, 
Burnt claret first or Naples biscuit gave. 

King. 

Put three quarters of a pound of fine flour to a 
pound of powdered sugar ; sift both together three 
times ; then add six eggs beaten well, and a spoon- 
ful of rose-water ; when the oven is nearly hot, bake 
them. 



124 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



GINGERBREAD. 

Whence oft with sugared cates she doth 'em greet, 
And gingerbread, if rare, now certes doubly sweet. 

Shenstone. 

To three quarters of a pound of treacle, beat one 
egg strained ; mix four ounces of brown sugar, half 
an ounce of ginger sifted, of cloves, mace, allspice, 
and nutmeg, a quarter of an ounce ; beat all as 
fine as possible ; melt one pound of butter, and mix 
with the above ; add as much flour as will knead it 
into a pretty stiff paste ; roll it out, and cut it in 
cakes. 

SPONGE CAKE. 

On cake luxuriously I dine, 
And drink the fragrance of the vine, 
Studious of elegance and ease, 
Myself alone I seek to please. 

Gay. 

Take the juice and grated rind of a lemon, twelve 
eggs, twelve ounces of finely pounded loaf sugar, 
the same of dried and sifted flour ; then, beat 
the yolks of ten eggs ; add the sugar by de- 
grees, and beat it till it will stand when dropped 
from the spoon ; put in at separate times the 
two other eggs, yolks, and whites ; whisk the ten 



CAKES. 



125 



whites for eight minutes, and mix in the lemon- 
juice, and when quite stiff, take as much as the 
whisk will lift, and put it upon the yolks and sugar, 
which must be beaten all the time ; mix in lightly 
all the flour and grated peel, and pour it gradually 
over the whites ; stir it together, and bake it in a 
large buttered tin or small ones ; do not more than 
half fill them. 

SUGAR BISCUITS. 

This happy hour elapsed and gone, 

The time of drinking tea comes on. 

The kettle filled, the water boiled, 

The cream provided, the biscuits piled, 

And lamp prepared ; I straight engage 

The Lilliputian equipage 

Of dishes, sauces, spoons, and tongs, 

And all the et ceteras which thereto belongs. 

Dodsley. 

The weight of eight eggs in finely pounded loaf 
sugar, and of four in dried flour ; beat separately 
the whites and yolks; with the yolks beat the 
sugar for half an hour ; then add the whites and 
the flour, and a little grated nutmeg, lemon-peel, 
or pounded cinnamon. Bake them as French 
biscuits. 

11* 



126 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



DERBY CAKE. 

Some bring a capon, some Derby cake, 

Some nuts, some apples, some that think they make 

The better cheesecakes, bring them. 

Rub in with the hand one pound of butter into 
two pounds of sifted flour ; put one pound of cur- 
rants, one pound of good moist sugar, and one egg ; 
mix all together with half pint of milk ; roll it out 
thin, and cut it into round cakes with a cutter ; 
lay them on a clean baking plate, and put them 
into a middling heated oven for about ten minutes. 

CRACKNELS. 

However, you shall home with me to night, 
Forget your cares, and revel in delight ; 
I have in store a pint or two of wine, 
Some cracknels, and the remnant of a chine. 

Swift. 

Blanch half a pound of sweet almonds, and pound 
them to a fine paste, adding to them by degrees six 
eggs, when thoroughly pounded ; pour on them a 
pound of powdered sugar, the same of butter, and 
the rinds of two lemons grated ; beat up these ingre- 
dients in the mortar ; put a pound of flour on a slab, 
and having poured the almond paste upon it, knead 



CAKES. 



127 



them together till they are well incorporated ; roll 
it out, and cut the cracknels into such forms as 
you think proper ; rub them with yolk of egg, and 
strew over them powdered sugar or cinnamon ; 
then lay them on a buttered tin, and bake them in 
a moderate oven, taking great care they do not 
burn. 

CHEESECAKES. 

Treat here, ye shepherds blithe ! your damsels sweet, 
For pies and cheesecakes are for damsels meet. 

Gay. 

Put two quarts of new milk into a stewpan ; set 
it near the fire, and stir in two tablespoonfuls of 
rennet ; let it stand till it is set (this will take 
about an hour) ; break it well with your hand, and 
let it remain half an hour longer ; then pour off the 
whey, and put the curd into a cullender to drain ; 
when quite dry, put it in a mortar, and pound it 
quite smooth ; then add four ounces of powdered 
sugar, and three ounces of fresh butter ; oil it first 
by putting it in a little potting pot, and setting it 
near the fire ; stir it all well together ; beat the 
yolks of four eggs in a basin with a little nutmeg 
grated, lemon-peel, and a glass of brandy ; add 
this to the curd, with two ounces of currants washed 
and picked ; stir it all well together ; have your 



128 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



tins ready lined with puff paste, about a quarter 
of an inch thick ; notch them all round the edge, 
and fill each with the curd. 
Bake them twenty minutes. 

BRIDE CAKE. 

The bridal came ; great the feast, 

And good the bride cake and the priest. 

Smart. 

Take four pounds of fresh butter, two pounds of 
loaf sugar, pounded and sifted fine, a quarter of 
an ounce of mace and the same quantity of nut- 
megs ; to every pound of flour put eight eggs ; 
wash and pick four pounds of currants, and dry 
them before the fire ; blanch a pound of sweet 
almonds, and cut them lengthways very thin, a 
pound of citron, a pound of candied orange, a 
pound of candied lemon, and half pint of brandy ; 
first work the butter to a cream ; then beat in your 
sugar a quarter of an hour ; beat the white of your 
eggs to a very strong froth ; mix them with your 
sugar and butter ; beat the yolks half an hour at 
least, and mix them with your cake ; then put in 
your flour, mace, and nutmeg ; keep beating it till 
your oven is ready ; put in your brandy ; beat^the 
currants and almonds lightly in ; tie three sheets 



CAKES. 



129 



of paper round the bottoms of your hoops, to keep 
it from running out ; rub it well with butter ; put in 
your cake and the sweetmeats in three layers, with 
cake between every layer ; after it is risen and 
colored, cover it with paper. 
It takes three hours baking. 



KISSES. 



"I never give a kiss" says Prue, 

" To naughty man, for I abhor it." 
She will not give a kiss, 'tis true, 

She'll take one, though, and thank you for it. 

From the French. 

One pound of the best loaf sugar, powdered and 
sifted, the whites of four eggs, twelve drops of 
essence of lemon, a teacup of currant jelly. Beat 
the whites of four eggs till they stand alone. Then 
beat in gradually the sugar, a teaspoonful at a 
time. Acid the essence of lemon, and beat the 
whole very hard. Lay a wet sheet of paper on the 
bottom of a square tin pan. Drop on it at equal 
distances a small teaspoonful of currant jelly. 
With a large spoon, pile some of the beaten white 
of eggs and sugar on each lump of jelly, so as to 
cover it entirely. Drop on the mixture as evenly 
as possible, so as to make the kisses of a round 



130 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



smooth shape. Set them in a cool oven, and as 
soon as they are colored, they are done. Then 
take them out, and place two bottoms together. 
Lay them lightly on a sieve, and dry them in a 
cool oven, till the two bottoms stick fast together, 
so as to form one oval or ball. 

SWEET MACAROONS. 

Where cakes luxuriant pile the spacious dish, 
And purple nectar glads the festive hour, 

The guest, without a want, without a wish, 
Can yield no room to music's soothing power. 

Johnson. 

Blanch a pound of sweet almonds ; throw them 
into cold water for a few minutes ; lay them in a 
napkin to dry, and leave them for twenty-four 
hours ; at the end of that time, pound them, a hand- 
ful at a time, adding occasionally some white of 
egg, till the whole is reduced to a fine paste ; then 
take two pounds of the best lump sugar ; pound 
and sift it ; then put it to the almonds with the 
grated rinds of two lemons ; beat these ingredients 
together in the mortar, adding, one at a time, as 
many eggs as you find necessary to moisten the 
paste, which should be thin, but not too much so, 
as in that case it would run ; your paste being 
ready, take out a little in a spoon, and lay the 



CAKES. 



131 



macaroons on sheets of white paper, either round 
or oval, as you please ; lay them at least an inch 
apart, because they spread in baking, and, if put 
nearer, would touch. 

The whole of your paste being used, place the 
sheets of paper on tins in a moderate oven for three 
quarters of an hour. 

This kind of cake requires great care. 



132 



SYLLABUB. 

Mountown ! the Muses' most delicious theme, 
0, may thy codlins ever swim in cream ! 
The rasp and strawberries in Bordeaux drown, 
To add a redder tincture to their own ! 
Thy white wine, sugar, milk, together club, 
To make that gentle viand — syllabub! 

King. 

Not all thy plate, how formed soe'er it be, 
Can please my palate like a bowl of thee. 

Barlow. 

In a large china bowl put a pint of port and a 
pint of sherry, or other white wine ; sugar to taste. 
Milk the bowl full ; in twenty minutes cover it 
pretty high with clouted cream ; grate over it nut- 
meg ; put pounded cinnamon and nonpareil com- 
fits. It is very good without the nonpareil comfits. 



133 



BEER OR ALE. 

0, Peggy, Peggy! when thou goest to brew, 
Consider well what you're about to do j 
Be very wise, very sedately think 
That what you're now going to make is drink; 
Consider who must drink that drink, and then 
What 'tis to have the praise of honest men ; 
For surely, Peggy, while that drink does last, 
'Tis Peggy will be toasted or disgraced. 
Then if thy ale in glass thou wouldst confine, 
To make its sparkling rays in beauty shine, 
Let thy clean bottle be entirely dry, 
Lest a white substance to the surface fly, 
And floating there disturb the curious eye ; 
But this great maxim must be understood, 
" Be sure, nay very sure, thy cork be good. 11 
Then future ages shall of Peggy tell, 
That nymph that brewed and bottled ale so well! 

King. 

Twelve bushels of malt to the hogshead for beer, 
eight for ale ; for either, pour the whole quantity 
of water, hot, but not boiling, on at once, and let 
it infuse three hours, close covered ; mash it in the 
first half hour, and let it stand the remainder of 
the time. Run it on the hops, previously infused 
in water ; for beer, three quarters of a pound to a 

12 



134 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



bushel ; if for ale, half a pound. Boil them with 
the wort, two hours, from the time it begins to boil. 
Cool a pailful ; then add three quarts of yeast, 
which will prepare it for putting to the rest when 
ready next day : but, if possible, put together the 
same night. Sun. as usual. Cover the bunghole 
with paper, when the beer has done working; and 
when it is to be stopped, have ready a pound and 
a half of hops, dried before the fire ; put them into 
the bunghole, and fasten it up. 

Let it stand twelve months in casks, and twelve 
in bottles before it be drank. It will keep, and be 
very fine, eight or ten years. It should be brewed 
in the beginning of March. Great care must be 
taken that bottles are perfectly prepared, and the 
corks are of the best sort. 

The ale will be readv in three or four months, 
and if the vent-peg be never removed, it will have 
spirit and strength to the last. Allow two gallons 
of water, at first, for waste. 

After the beer or ale is run from the grains, 
pour a hogshead and a half for the twelve bushels; 
and a hogshead of water, if eight were brewed. 
Mash, and let stand ; and then boil, kc. 



135 



ORIGIN OF MINT JULEPS. 

'Tis said that the gods, on Olympus of old, 

(And who the bright legend profanes with a 
doubt !) 

One night, 'mid their revels, by Bacchus were told, 
That his last butt of nectar had somehow run out. 

But determined to send round the goblet once more, 

They sued to the fairer mortals for aid 
In composing a draught, which till drinking were 
o'er, 

Should cast every wine ever drank in the shade. 

Grave Ceres herself blithely yielded her corn, 
And the spirit that lives in each amber-hued 
grain, 

And which first had its birth from the dews of the 
morn, 

Was taught to steal out in bright dew-drops again. 

Pomona, whose choicest of fruits on the board 
Were scattered profusely, in every one's reach, 

When called on a tribute to cull from the hoard, 
Express'd the mild juice of the delicate peach. 



136 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



The liquids were mingled, while Venus looked on, 
With glances so fraught with sweet magical power, 

That the honey of Hybla, e'en when they were gone, 
Has never been missed in the draught from that 
hour. 

Flora then from her bosom of fragrancy shook, 
And with roseate fingers pressed down in the bowl, 

All dripping and fresh as it came from the brook, 
The herb whose aroma should flavor the whole. 

The draught was delicious, each god did exclaim, 
Though something yet wanting they all did be- 
wail; 

But juleps the drink of immortals became, 
When Jove himself added a handful of hail. 



Hoffman. 



137 



PUNCH. 

Four elements, joined in 

An emulous strife, 
Fashion the world, and 

Constitute life. 

From the sharp citron 
The starry juice pour ; 

Acid to life is 

The innermost core. 

Now, let the sugar 

The bitter one meet ; 
Still be life's bitter 

Tamed down with the sweet ! 

Let the bright water 

Flow into the bowl ; 
Water, the calm one, 

Embraces the whole. 



12* 



POETICAL COOK-BOOK. 



Drops from the spirit 
Pour quick'ning within, 

Life but its life from 
The spirit can win. 



Haste, while it gloweth, 

Your vessels to bring; 
The wave has but virtue 

Drunk hot from the spring. 

Translated from Schiller. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 



A la Braise, Beef, 37 

Artichokes, • . . . . . . . .75 

Asparagus, . • . 80 

Apple Dumplings, 1 06 

Apple Pudding, 100 

Almond Creams, . . . . . . . .Ill 

Ale, 133 

Broth, Chicken, . 24 

Boiled Salmon, .29 

Beef, Roast, 36 

Beef, Baked with Potatoes, 38 

Beef, Ragout, 39 

Beef, Kidneys, . . ... . . .39 

Broiled Beefsteaks, 40 

Beef, Salt, 42 

Birds, Potted, 58 

Beans, Lima, ........ 75 

Batter Pudding, 1 05 

Butter, .115 

Bread, . . . 112 

Bride Cake, 128 

Biscuits, Naples, 123 

Biscuits, Sugar, 125 



140 



INDEX. 



Buckwheat Cakes, 
Beer, . 

Calf's Liver. Roasted, 
Calf's Head. Surprised 
Calf's Head, Roasted, 
Capon, 

Chicken Croquettes, 
Carrots, 

Cranberry Sauce, 
Caper Sauce, 
Cabbage. Pickled, 
Cocoanut Pudding, 
Charlotte des Pommes, 
Custards or Creams, 
Custards. Boiled, . 
Cottage Cheese, . 
Cheesecakes, 
Cracknels, . 

Derby Cakes, 

Eggs. To Poach, . 
Eggs. Boiled, 
Eggs and Bread, . 
Eggs, Fried, 
Eve's Pudding, . 

Fish White, To Stew. 
Fish White. Another W 
Fish Brown, To Stew, 
Forcemeat Balls, . 
Fowl a la Hollandaise 



av to 



Stew, 



INDEX. 141 

Fruit Pies, 96 

Fritters, 107 

Fritters, Sweetmeat, 106 

Gingerbread, Lafayette, 121 

Gingerbread, 124 

Hams, To Cure, 52 

Ham Pies, 53 

Hare, Roasted, 54 

Herbs, 82 

Hasty Pudding, 101 

Honey Cake, .123 

Ice Cream, . . . . . . . .109 

Indian and Rye Bread, 114 

Jelly, Currant, . . . . . . . .87 

Jelly, Cherry, . 89 

Jelly, Apple, . . . 88 

Jelly, Calves' feet, . . ... . .89 

Johnny Cakes, 118 

Ketchup, Mushroom, . . . . . . .65 

Kisses, .129 

Lobster, Boiled, 30 

Larks, 58 

Leeks, 81 

Mutton, Leg of, 52 

Macaroni Gratin, 63 

Mint Sauce, 69 



INDEX. 



Mushrooms, To Stew, 64 

Mangoes, ; . 84 

Minee Pies, . . . 98 

Macaroons, Sweet, 130 

Muffins, .118 

Mint Juleps, Origin of, . . . . . .135 

Naples Biscuit, . . . . . . . .123 

Oatmeal Pudding, . . . . . .103 

Oysters, 31 

Oysters, Fried, . . . . . . . .31 

Oysters, Stewed, 32 

Oysters, Scalloped, ....... 33 

Oyster Loaves, . . . . . . .33 

Oyster Pattie, . . . . . . . . 62 

Ortolans, To Roast, . . . . . 56 

Onion Sauce, . . . . . . . .74 

Omelet, 91 

Omelette, Souffle, . 94 

Orange Custards, . . . . . . . .110 

Percli with Wine, 27 

Patties for Fried Bread, 62 

Pheasants, To Roast, 56 

Potatoes, .76 

Peas, 78 

Pineapple Preserve, ....... 90 

Puff Paste, 95 

Pyramid Paste, ........ 96 

Plum Pudding, 99 

Plum Cake, . . 120 



INDEX. 



143 



Pancakes, 11 

Punch, 13 

Roasted Sturgeon, 2 

Rabbits, Fricasseed, . . • . . .5 

Rice, 7 

Rye Bread, 11 

Soup, Turtle, 2 

Scotch Haggis, 41 

Scotch Collops, 44 

Salmis of Wild Duck, 47 

Stewed Duck and Peas, 48 

Salad, To Dress, . . . . ^ . . . .73 

Spinach, 79 

Sponge Cake, 124 

Superlative Sauce, . ■ 68 

Syllabub, . . . 132 

Sugar, To Clarify, 86 

Suet Pudding, ......... 103 

Shrewsbury Cakes, 122 

Tongues, To Pickle, for Boiling, 43 

Truffles, 63 

Turkey, Boiled, 50 

Turkey, Devilled, 50 

Turnips, 79 

Venison, 35 

Venison, Pasty, 36 

Veal, Stewed Fillet, ....... 45 

Veal, Stuffing for, 60 



INDEX. 



Vol au Vent, 61 

Vegetables, 72 

Woodcocks, 57 

Whipped Cream, 109 

Yorkshire Pudding, 102 

Yeast, 112 



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